


Miraculous Luau

by MickeyT



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-11
Updated: 2016-09-14
Packaged: 2018-08-08 05:01:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 23,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7744315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MickeyT/pseuds/MickeyT
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Adrien a surfboarding legend, Marinette a hardworking tour guide. Along with their friends on the sunny beaches of Hawaii, the Miraculous cast sets off for fun, excitement, romance, and the smallest hint of drama.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"Aloha everybody!" Marinette said loudly, one hand to her mouth, the other raised in greeting towards the group that were assembling before her at the tourist station, "Welcome to beautiful Hawaii! My name is Marinette and I'll be your tour guide today!

"First things first, everyone!" She continued, "We'll be walking a lot today, and it's going to be a scorching 80 degrees out there, so make sure you have a water bottle or two filled up. You can also burn easily out there in the sun, so make sure that you have sunblock on!"

Marinette waited for her group to check their things, a worried mother applying more and more sunscreen to her children until they had turned a pale white. It wasn't a very large group, only one family of four, a couple who appeared to be on their honeymoon, another couple who had cameras slung around their necks, sunglasses covering their eyes, straw hats and Hawaiian shirts. They weren't the only ones in Hawaiian shirts, though, the last one there was a fat man who was clearly a local judging by how he shot Marinette sly looks in regards to the other tourists.

Marinette lead them down the street, giving them a brief lesson on some things that they could see. This was going to be the last group she had to show around before she got to clock out and go to the beach. It would be crowded with just as many tourists as she could already see, but at least she would be able to hang out with her best friend, Alya. She might even see Adrien surfing!

Ah, Adrien, ever since Mari had heard her favorite surfing star actually lived on the same island as she did, she couldn't stop but try to see him as much as she could. Alya would often give her grief for not actually talking to him save a few broken sentences and stuttered words. But Alya didn't understand how it was to be so smitten with someone that a look from them could send her reeling. Just being around him made her heart flutter and her head swim. If he ever took a tour of the island like some of the locals, Marinette would probably forget everything she would say, even though it was the same every time and was now so natural to say that she could think all of this while still telling her group about the volcanoes and islands.

As they walked down the street, Marinette explaining to her group that the volcanoes really weren't as dangerous as everybody made them out to be, a guy about her age skated past and bumped into her.

"Hey!" Marinette exclaimed, turning to see the offender as he kept skating. It was Kim, usually he worked down at the record shop, but he must have gotten the day off or something, judging by the fact he was here to bother Marinette on her tour.

"Aloha, cousin!" Kim called back, raising his hand into the air, his pinky and thumb stuck out on either side, the middle three fingers folded down to form a shaka. "How's it hanging?" He asked, swinging back around to join with her as she kept walking with her group.

"Shove off Kim," Marinette groaned, "I'm working. Not like you'd understand." Kim wasn't actually Marinette's cousin. It was just island slang. Marinette called Alya her cousin even though they had only met after Alya moved to the island almost a year ago.

"So am I, can't you tell?" Kim asked, nodding his head up the street, "Have to get some mixers for Nino. Concert ain't a concert with no music."

Marinette glanced back at her group, all of whom seemed excited to hear about a potential concert, as tourist traps go, it was a big one. Marinette grabbed Kim's arm and pulled him close, switching to speaking Hawaiian so that the rest of the group couldn't listen in on their conversation, except for the local who was chuckling in the back.

"Explain. Now." Marinette growled.

"Alright, cousin, chill!" Kim replied, looking around to see if there were any eavesdroppers. Of course, there weren't, it was rather early and the locals tended to stride away from tour groups, while tourists walked closer to listen to the attractions. "Nino is setting up a beach party tonight. He and Alya wanted to throw a party for Adrien since he just got accepted into a big surfing competition next month. He's going to be training a lot going up to it, so they wanted to give him one last hurrah before we don't get to see much of him. Everyone is going, even you."

"I never said I was going," Marinette hissed.

"It's Adrien, you're going." Kim replied with a huge grin before skating off again, "Remember, cousin, 8 o'clock at the beach!"

"That sounded exciting!" The woman with the sunglasses said, clutching her camera tightly.

Marinette sighed and shrugged, "Sorry, Kim is kind of crazy. Anyway," Marinette said, switching back to her chipper, tour-guide voice, "This is possibly the best ice cream store in town, and it's run by two of my good friends. Does anyone wanna try some?"

Marinette held the door open for her group as they all entered the small shop, a marble counter adorning most of the space through the door, a few tables squeezed near it, most of the sitting area outside. Hanging on the wall above the counter was a large chalkboard with lists of all the different kinds of ice cream and frozen yogurt the store made available to their patrons. Marinette recognized the pair of handwriting adorning the blackboard, one flowing and pretty, and one more messy and hard. Just like the two owners, Mylene and Ivan.

Mylene was taking people's orders, hopping along the countertop to each guest and calling back their orders to Ivan who scooped it into dishes or cones and handed them over his girlfriend's head to the awaiting tourists. Marinette held the door open again as some of her group squeezed outside into the hot sun again to eat their frozen treats.

"You guys going to the party?" Marinette asked, quirking her head to the side like a little bird.

Mylene smiled at the last person to order before turning to talk with her friend, Marinette, "Uh-huh!" She said, a small gleam in her eyes, "I was talking with Rose and Juleka about it earlier, they said that they were going to bring a present for Adrien, you know, to wish him luck!" Ivan nodded and grunted in what seemed like agreement. Marinette never really understood how such a sullen person as Ivan and such a glowing ray of sunshine, Mylene, ever got together, but if they were happy, Mari wouldn't complain.

Marinette groaned, now she had to get Adrien a present?! When would she have time to do that? And what should she even get him? Should it be better than whatever Juleka and Rose are getting him? What were they getting him? Oh no! If Marinette got him a present, she would have to give it to him, wouldn't she? Right to his face! How desperate would that make her look? Did she want to seem desperate? She was kind of desperate. But she didn't want him knowing that! And what if he didn't like it? Marinette could really use some help from Alya right now. Somehow she always seemed to know exactly what to do in a romantic setting, even though she wasn't currently in any romantic relationship with anyone.

But Mylene was. And she was so easy to talk to.

"Mylene," Marinette pleaded, "You gotta help me! I don't know what to do!" She flopped on the counter and sighed languidly. She felt like she was going to crack like an egg if much more of this party stuff went on, and it had only just started!

"Marinette," Ivan said, surprising her. His voice was gentle, but also hard to ignore, "You're making a scene in front of the tour." He muttered, jogging her back to the present. Marinette shot up like a bullet, a red-hot blush spreading across her face as she tried to play it off with a smile.

"Right!" She exclaimed, "Let's keep going!" And with that, she lead the tour back on to the street.

As the tour went on throughout the day, Marinette found herself stumbling over her words and sometimes even forgetting which direction they were going, or what site they were trying to get to. Luckily, the local in the group would always help her get back on track, only to have her mess up again a few minutes later.

What is wrong with me? Marinette asked herself after showing her group a beautiful waterfall, the last stop on the tour before she led them all back to the tourist kiosk. It's just a party, I've been to parties before. This one is no different.

But even as she thought it, she could tell it wasn't true. Something about this party was going to be very different from the rest. Maybe it was because of the fact that it was for Adrien, or it was such a big deal, maybe it was because everyone she knew was going, or perhaps she was more hung up about a present than she thought.

Rose was great at getting presents for people, so how could Marinette compete with her? But more importantly, why did she feel the need to compete with her? It wasn't a competition, and it wasn't even like Rose liked Adrien. Not in the way Marinette did.

She needed to talk to Alya.

After reapplying sunblock and having a short break for lunch at the waterfall, Marinette had everyone up and moving again, assuring the whining children that they were almost done, and headed right for the beach so they could go play in the surf if they wanted. Winding back along the route they had taken, it didn't take nearly as long to get back as it did to get there, considering that they didn't stop for pictures or explanations or to get ice cream. They couldn't if they wanted to, though, the shop was closed, a short handwritten note tacked on to the door in Mylene's flowery handwriting.

Marinette slowed down long enough to glance at it, trying to find out where they had gone, they usually didn't leave this early. Sure enough, the note had said that they were closing early for a party, Marinette could only imagine which they were referring to.

When they came back to the tourist center, Marinette gave her last lines:

"Thank you all for coming with me on this trip around the island, I hope you all enjoyed yourselves! If there are any questions one of the people inside can help, or you could ask me. I hope you all enjoy your stay here in Hawaii, aloha!"

There was some discussion among the tourists as to what they wanted to do, the local man leaving with a smile and raising a shaka to Mari as he left which she returned to him. The couple with the cameras asked for a few photos with Marinette since she was "the first Hawaiian they'd ever seen" The man even gave her a flower to stick behind her ear, which made her blush. Usually it wasn't strangers to hand out flowers to others, but Marinette was nice enough to not point it out, slipping it behind her right ear and smiling for the camera.

Once that was over, everyone had left. Marinette sighed a breath of relief, it was nice to be a tour guide, but it was exhausting too. She much preferred her hula classes. She quickly ducked back into the tourist center, waving to Max behind the counter as he was showing the family she was touring a few places that were good for dinner.

Marinette clocked out and changed into her slippers and out of her tour guide uniform, replacing it with a white flower print shirt and some shorts. She grabbed her bag which had a towel and her bathing suit in it and headed for the beach. She was planning on meeting up with Alya even before the whole party mess, no reason to change plans.

The beach was crowded, as usual, with tourists and locals alike. Towels spread out across the sand, umbrellas dotting the landscape here and there, and a few structures for changing, getting refreshments, or renting snorkels, surfboards, or buying forgotten necessities like sunscreen, umbrellas, or towels.

Marinette made a bee line towards one such structure, slumping her shoulders as she saw a long line waiting impatiently for service. She rushed towards the front, just to be certain that it was in fact for the reason that she thought. And sure enough, there was the small sign: "Back in a few!" With a little smiling face at the bottom, which didn't seem to make anyone happier.

"Hey!" said the man behind her, at the front of the line, "Do you work here? I've been waiting for almost fifteen minutes!"

"Um..." Marinette did not work here. Alya did. Usually. More often than not she would run off though, trying to find something more interesting to do, how she hadn't been fired was beyond anyone's range of thought. "Yes! So sorry for the wait!" Marinette jumped behind the counter, dropping her bag to her feet and turning to the intimidating line before her, putting on her best tour guide smile and trying to set about the shop as fast as she could. It wasn't the first time she had covered for her friend, and it probably wouldn't be the last, considering.

The line was made up of tourists, they had no idea of how island time worked. There were still many hours until the sunset, so there was no reason to rush anyone for anything. They would get their stuff sooner or later, but they were impatient. That's what happens when you live on the mainland.

Eventually, the line was gone, and so was the remains of Marinette's energy. She wasn't even sure if she could yell at Alya if she showed up right then. Maybe she should skip the party for some much needed rest and relaxation. Between the stressful tour and this, Marinette was already rather burned out and wasn't sure if she could keep up with other party goers.

"Ughhh... I'm not sure if I can make it..." She moaned, slumping on the floor of the rental shack, leaning her head against the wall.

"That's too bad," A familiar voice said, "I don't think I can eat all these malasadas by myself."

Marinette didn't even need to open her eyes to know who it was, she frowned and could tell that her friend wasn't lying about the fried treats, she could smell them from here. They must have been made fresh. She frowned and cracked open her eyes, glaring at Alya as she leaned across the counter, holding out a box of malasadas enticingly. The logo on the box was the same one for the bakery that her parents owned and operated here on the island.

"Did you seriously get malasadas from my mom?" Marinette asked, snatching one from the box and taking a bite of the sugary treat.

Alya replied with a shrug, sitting on the counter and knocking the sign down with her butt "She makes the best on the island." Marinette couldn't argue with that.

"Are you going to the party tonight?" Marinette asked, already knowing the answer and dreading it.

Alya nodded, wiping some crumbs off her face, "You know it, girl! Why wouldn't I? Hang on, let me rephrase that: Why wouldn't you it's for Adrien!"

"I know, Alya, but I don't know what I'd get him... I'd feel bad if I showed up without anything since Rose and Juleka-"

"Wait, hold up. Why would you get him anything?"

"Well aren't Rose and Juleka getting him something?"

"Who told you that?"

"Mylene."

Alya sighed and shook her head, "I just saw those two. Rose was giving him her lucky lei and Juleka wasn't planning on bringing anything. Nino wanted the party to be kind of low-key so he told everyone to not worry about bringing anything. Of course that went through one of Rose's ears and out the other. Don't worry about it, girl."

Alya always knew what to say to cheer Marinette up. She smiled and hugged her friend, "Thanks Alya."

"Does this mean you're going?" Alya asked hopefully, unable to keep a look of excitement off her face.

"Yeah," Marinette said, looking out across the beach as the sun was slowly settling down in the western sky, painting the ocean a warm orange. The people were slowly trickling out, going to a restaurant for dinner, or back to their hotels. It was much less full now than it was before Alya had arrived, it was getting late, and that's when the locals got free reign of the beach, the perfect time for a party.

"I think I will." She said.


	2. Chapter 2

Marinette had gone home to change for the party. She, Alya, and Alix all shared a small apartment in town. The place wasn't meant to have that many people, but it was the only way that they could afford a place. The cost of living was high on the island, and many of Marinette's friends lived together because of it, that's actually how she knew as many people as she did.

Marinette changed out of her casual wear, replacing it with a light sundress, it wasn't a very fancy event, so she wasn't trying to look too fancy. Marinette had to remind herself of this often as she caught herself fussing with her hair, teeth, shoes, and anything else, just to stall actually leaving her room for the party. It had probably already started since the sun had set, but Marinette was nervous. Adrien was going to be there!

After looking in the mirror one last time, reassuring herself that she could in fact do it, Mari ran back outside and started to make her way towards the beach, turning back only once because she had forgotten her purse and with it her money, phone, and keys.

By the time Marinette came across the beach, there were already lights set up and music playing, a small fire pit sitting amid the gaggle of people who were her friends. As she made her way closer, Marinette noticed faces: Ivan, Mylene, Nino, Alya, Kim, Rose, and Juleka. She also noticed that there were plenty of bottles in hand, which was fine, most of the people in the circle were of age, including Marinette, she just didn't normally enjoy beer. That didn't stop her from accepting a handout from Nino though.

"Hey Marinette," Rose said with a bright smile, "I'm so glad you could make it!"

"Yeah, me too," Marinette replied honestly. She was happy to see that she hadn't overdressed for the event since her dress was on par with what the others had worn, a silent sigh of relief taking some tension off her shoulders, "Wait a second... Where's Adrien? Isn't this party for him?"

Nino sighed loudly and shook his head, "Yeah. We saw him briefly, but he had forgot to tell someone about the party. He said he was going to grab them and that we should start without him."

Marinette nodded in understanding. She wasn't sure if she was relieved Adrien wasn't there, or if she was upset. He was kind of the reason she had bothered coming. "Don't worry, girl," Alya said, punching Marinette in the shoulder, "He hasn't been gone long, and the night is still young!"

"Yeah," Kim added, "Besides, Alix and Max aren't here yet!"

"Neither is Nathanael," muttered Juleka, taking a sip from her bottle, prompting Marinette to do the same. She hadn't even noticed that the artist wasn't there, to be fair she hardly knew when he was around because of his quiet personality. Juleka seemed to always be the one to notice, however and it always made Marinette wonder about those two.

"Eh, who needs him?" Kim said, standing up, the flickering light of the fire illuminating him as he stood over it, "The guy doesn't really add anything to the conversation anyway."

"Neither do you, Kim, sit down," Alya said with a smirk. Everyone laughed and Kim looked around, flapping his mouth trying to defend himself before finally sitting down, much more subdued.

A few minutes later, and a few more sips into their drinks, the group was joined by Alix, who had finally gotten off work. Max was only a few steps behind her, much more bashful about being late, "Lost track of time, I suppose," was the only thing he had to say on the matter.

Marinette began to worry about Adrien. He had been gone a while now, according to Nino and Alya, and there really wasn't too much distance to cover in any direction, so what was taking him so long? Had he ditched his own party? No, Adrien wasn't the kind of person to do that. Maybe he had been mugged! Or maybe lost! Mugged and lost!

"What's taking Adrien so long?" Nino asked, voicing the concern in Marinette's mind as he pulled out his phone and started to type in Adrien's number, "Dude's taking forever."

"I'm here!" Came a shout across the beach, Nino put down his phone to look in the direction of the voice, as did many others, to see the blond boy running across the beach towards them, an unfamiliar person following behind him at a much more leisurely pace.

"Sorry about that," Adrien said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, "I had to convince her to come along, but she's as stubborn as always." The girl who had accompanied Adrien had finally caught up to the party and was looking around at everyone with a small sneer as if their existence was inconveniencing her in some way, "Guys, I'd like to introduce an old friend of mine, I've known her since we were little and-"

"They should already know who I am," said the girl, flicking her hair out of her eyes. Marinette squinted, usually she was good at faces and stuff, but this girl didn't seem familiar at all. Judging from the silence of the circle, it would seem that everyone else had the same stance on the matter. "Really?" She scoffed, appalled that she wasn't getting any form of recognition, "I'm on the cover of Fashion Daily! I had a supporting role in Good Days? Seriously?"

"We don't get Fashion Daily here, Chloe... That's why I suggested you come here for vacation. Remember?" Adrien was trying to be helpful, but he was struggling to stay warm when his guest was being such a snob.

"What's Good Days?" Ivan asked, looking up at the girl, Chloe, from his spot next to Mylene.

"What? You don't know what that is?" She let out one short laugh that felt like ice, "No wonder Adrikins suggested I come all the way out here, it is very secluded."

Alya rolled her eyes next to Marinette and took out her phone, googling what Good Days actually was. "Good Days," She read, "A brief television show, lasting only one season about the youth of our generation, blah, blah, blah... Casting, let's see... What did you say your name was?"

Another outraged scoff. Kim snorted from the other side of the fire pit, covering it with a cough. Marinette couldn't blame him, it was pretty funny how angry she was getting from this. "Chloe. Chloe Bourgeois."

"Uh-huh," Alya remarked, not looking up from her phone, "It says here that you were introduced two episodes before it ended."

"Well yes, I was unfortunate enough to be cast near the end of it's life time-"

"All the reviews say that your performance was so garbage that you tanked the ratings and that's why it was pulled off air," Alya stated, looking up at the blonde with a coy smirk on her face. Ouch.

"Hmph!" Chloe exclaimed, "They just couldn't handle my acting skills!"

"Hey, guys! Guys!" Adrien interjected, stepping between Chloe and the others, "Can we cool it? I just wanted to invite an old friend of mine to join the party. Could you try to get along? Chloe will be staying in one of the beach houses for a while, she needed a vacation and I suggested she come here. I wanted you guys to become friends."

That was so sweet, Marinette thought. Adrien standing up for an old friend, no matter how awful she was. And the idea that he wanted his old friend and his new friends to get along well, even inviting her to a party so they could all get to meet her. Marinette was surprised when she found herself standing, brushing the sand off of her butt.

"I think that's a great idea!" She said, trying really hard not to stammer or blush, repeating the words "act natural" in her head over and over again. "Nice to meet you, Chloe, I'm Marinette!" She held out her hand towards the girl, hoping to hit it off with her, "I think we might have gotten off on the wrong foot."

Chloe took a moment to look Marinette up and down, examining the girl's attire with a critical look. Marinette was suddenly self conscious again, at least she had tried to dress up a little, but who was she kidding? Chloe was on the front of a fashion magazine, of course she would think Marinette would look plain.

Chloe sighed and resigned her hand to Marinette, "Charmed." After that, she let go quickly and turned around, "Do you seriously expect me to just sit on the sand?" Chloe asked, looking appalled as everyone else hadn't brought towels or anything, "I am not about to ruin these pants, Adrien!"

Adrien sighed and pulled off his shirt with a grumble, setting it on the ground for Chloe to take a seat on, where Adrien joined next to her.

Alya was giggling next to Marinette as she blushed a bright red, trying her hardest not to stare at Adrien who was seated right across the fire from her. Instead, Marinette turned her face towards the sky, attempting to count the stars to keep her mind somewhat clear.

The party wore on, Kim and Alix grabbing a soccer ball and passing it around on the sand outside their circle of light. Nino, Max, and Adrien having a conversation about a new game that had come out recently, Marinette was vaguely interested in the topic, but found herself listening more to Alya, Juleka, and Rose as they talked about work and their days. Ivan and Mylene seemed to have fallen asleep, judging from the gentle rise and fall of their chests as they leaned against each other to stay upright, somewhat.

Chloe was complaining about the beer being cheap.

"You know, if you want more expensive beer," Kim called from where he had caught one of Alix's kicks, "I could go do a beer run, I'm not that tipsy that I can't drive."

"Your car's back from the shop?" Rose asked, looking over her shoulder at him. Kim sheepishly looked away, indicating that no, his "baby" as he called it, was still in desperate need of repairs.

"He could take mine," Nino suggested, holding up the keys to his rusty old Jeep that had been handed down through his family.

"I am not driving around in that thing," Chloe said, pointing at the old car as it sat in the nearest parking spot.

"You don't have to," Kim said, grabbing the keys from Nino, "You just have to chip in for beer. If you want something good, tell me, and be sure to pay."

"Why do I have to pay?" Chloe asked.

"We all do, Chloe," Adrien explained, fishing his own wallet out of his back pocket, Marinette tried again not to focus on him and his shirtless body. "If you want to drink, you have to pay. Group effort." Adrien handed over twenty dollars like it was nothing. He was so generous and never made anyone pay him back for anything. "Get whatever, man, I'm not picky."

"Yeah," Kim muttered, taking money from other's outstretched hands, "Too bad your girlfriend is."

It hadn't registered to Marinette that that was a possibility. She wanted to ask to make sure, but she was didn't want to be rude, or appear stupid. To tell the truth, she was also scared of what the answer might be. She had never really thought that Adrien could have a girlfriend because she was always caught up in her own fantasies about it. How could she not have realized? Adrien was a handsome guy, popular, sweet, and overall just a great catch. Add in his fame and money and any girl would be climbing hand over foot to date him. Was he and Chloe dating?

Marinette stared at Adrien, not because of the fact that he wasn't wearing a shirt, she could barely think about that right now. No, she was trying to see how he interacted with Chloe. They had said they were old friends. But Adrien invited her to stay on the island for a vacation. Was that being friendly or did he want to be closer to her? He did give up his shirt for her. And Chloe did call him that dumb pet name "Adrikins". Marinette couldn't deny that Chloe was pretty, but she was also rude, maybe it was nothing, maybe Adrien liked girls like that. Although Marinette couldn't see how such a nice guy could stand such a rude girl.

They did have more in common the more Marinette thought about it, and they did seem to stay close together. Oh no...


	3. Chapter 3

"Alya!" Marinette cried out, grabbing her friend by the wrist and tugging her away from the group.

"What's wrong, girl?" Alya asked, quirking an eyebrow at Marinette's unexpected actions, "Do you need a pad or something?"

"What? No!" Marinette shook her head, still gripping tightly to Alya, now close to where Kim and Nino had took the car to get drinks, "Do you think that Adrien and that girl are dating?" She asked, her eyes pleading for answers.

Alya was never really sure why her friend always looked to her for advice, honestly Alya was no better at this stuff than Marinette, but perhaps it was more to get an outsider's perspective. Some of the things she asked about was pretty obvious to Alya so maybe she was wrong about not being able to help, but Alya still found herself looking back at the group and trying to figure it out for herself. Certainly that Chloe girl liked Adrien in a way, but that could perhaps just have come from growing up together. Adrien's feelings though, was what Marinette was worried about here, and although it always seemed as if Adrien was forward with his feelings, Alya could always sense a barrier between him and others.

"Marinette, I think that's a question you should be asking Adrien, not me." Alya said. She felt content with that answer, it was just enough to push Marinette into action while not giving a definitive answer, if Alya knew Marinette like she did, it was almost certain that Alya's message would also motivate her enough to actually do something. And if she was too nervous, Alya had a backup plan, "Hey Adrien!" Alya called out, waving him over, "Marinette has a question for you!"

Alya didn't turn around to see the shock on Marinette's face and walked back towards the fire that the shirtless Adrien was coming from. Alya couldn't help but smile at herself, if this didn't work, at least it was funny. She took a seat next to Rose, where she could just see the vague shape of Adrien's back.

"What's up, Marinette?" Adrien asked, coming to her. Alya had called him over after she had been dragged away by Marinette. To be honest, Adrien didn't know too much about Marinette despite all the times he was in her proximity because all their friends knew each other, so whenever something happened, both of them would be invited to the event. She was just so quiet around him, at first he had thought that was just her personality, but after seeing her open up to almost everybody else in the group, he had to figure that there was something between the two of them that made her nervous. Maybe the reason she hadn't answered his question with hers was because he wasn't wearing a shirt, but he couldn't be sure, Chloe was still sitting on it.

Finally, Marinette opened her mouth, "Um, I-I was just uh, wondering..." she stammered, blushing brightly enough that even outside of the circle of light, Adrien could make out the glow, causing him to smile reassuringly, he wanted her to feel comfortable around him like she did around the others.

Oh no, Marinette thought to herself, he's smiling, he probably thinks I'm some huge dork with a crush on him! Well, she was a huge dork and she did have a crush on him, how could she not? Even now, with her acting like a total idiot and bumbling and stumbling over every single word she said, he was waiting patiently, even smiling at her. He was such a sweet, caring, understanding guy.

Marinette glanced past him, catching a glimpse of the others at the fire, Alya giving a reassuring thumbs-up, Ivan and Mylene relaxing with each other. Marinette needed the reassurance, and she needed to be reminded of how great it was to feel love for someone and knowing they love you back. But right now, Marinette would settle for Adrien just liking her. Honestly, she would take him not thinking she was totally crazy.

With new found strength, Marinette readjusted her stance, straightening as if something inside of her had unfolded to it's full height and she was only now holding her head as high as it should be held. She took a deep breath and started again, "What I mean to say is: Are you and Chloe an item?" She asked, her sudden burst of bravery melting when the words passed her lips, making her worried for the answer yet again.

"Huh?" Adrien said, confounded, "What gave you that idea? No, we're just friends."

Marinette could feel her stomach doing flips as if she were riding a roller coaster, which wasn't too nice of her, considering that Chloe seemed to like Adrien. But this gave Marinette a chance! Quickly, while the last vestiges of that surge of courage creeped away forever!

"Well then, could I ask you another question?" Marinette asked, hope welling up inside of her chest, leaving her stomach to do it's flips, it was her heart's turn to lead her body.

"Yeah, anything."

There was that smile again, that beautiful, warm, welcoming smile which seemed to envelop Marinette in a tight blanket, comforting her while also taking her breath away. "I was wondering if, uh, if you w-w-would..." Oh no. No! She had to power through this, she just had to get these words out! She was just a few words from either having one of her deepest dreams realized, or having it dashed to pieces without mercy. She prayed it wasn't the latter option...

"I was wondering if you would-!"

"Dude we got watermelons!" Kim shouted at the top of his lungs, sticking his torso out of the roof of Nino's car, holding a large circular green melon between his hands above his head.

"Yeah!" Nino agreed, almost tripping under the weight of the bags of watermelons he was holding as he got out of the car, "A lot of them!"

Adrien's attention, like Marinette's, and like everyone around the fire, was drawn to the two idiots unloading from the Jeep at the edge of the sand. They hurried to join their friends, a baseball bat tucked underneath Kim's armpit.

"What did you two do?" Chloe asked with a sneer at the bundle of melons at her feet, "I thought you went on a beer run?"

"We did!" Kim said excitedly, "But then we saw watermelons and I asked Nino: 'Hey, you ever seen that anime where they smash watermelons?' And he was all like-"

"I said: 'Yeah dude, that's like my favorite one!'" Nino's speech was slurred and Marinette was just happy that he hadn't been the one to drive them to and from the store.

"Wait," Max said, "You guys saw watermelons while grabbing beer? What store did you go to?"

"What?" Kim asked.

"We just found 'em, man," Nino explained, pointing his thumb over his shoulder at his car, as if it were the place they had gotten the melons.

"No store sells beer and watermelon. Especially not this late..." Max said, scratching his head, utterly bewildered by the situation.

"Nah, but we were getting the melons, right?" Kim continued his story like it was a huge deal, "And so I say: 'Yo, you have to smash them with a bat, right?' So we had to go get my bat from my place, yeah?"

"I'm still confused," Rose said.

"Yeah," Alya said, shaking her head, "Anime? Like Japanese cartoons? What are you talking about?"

Nino pointed dramatically at Alya, "Anime isn't cartoons!"

Kim lowered his friend's finger and smiled broadly, "Yeah, it's a game the Japanese play for new year's or something! Sounds like fun, right?"

"How do you play?" Alix asked.

Nino looked at Kim. Kim looked at Nino. They both looked uneasy. It was rather obvious neither had a clue how this thing was supposed to be done, or if it was a real thing or just some weird thing they saw on the internet. Eventually, Nino seemed to catch on to something in his intoxicated state, "Hey man," he said, pointing at Kim, "Aren't you Japanese?"

Kim shook his head, "Nah man, even if I was, that doesn't mean I would know how this works."

Nino then looked around the group, his mouth hanging open as he tried to think. It was kind of funny seeing how hard he had to try like this, Rose let out a small giggle so Marinette knew she wasn't the only one to think so. "Alix?" Nino finally asked, pointing at her. All she did in response was roll her eyes and shove him. Apparently Nino wasn't very well coordinated and fell backwards on his butt, flopping back on to his back and staring up into Marinette's face. His face split into a stupid grin, "C'mon Mari, I know you know how to do this."

Truth be told, Marinette knew just about as much of the subject as Nino seemed to, having watched something with watermelon smashing being mentioned in passing, "Don't look at me!" She exclaimed, holding her hands up and backing away from the sprawled out boy.

"Great," Chloe scoffed, "Just great! You give me bad drinks, then when you finally go out to do something about it, you just screw it up and bring us back some worthless watermelons!"

"Nah," Adrien said, hefting the forgotten bat in one hand and smiling down at the watermelons, "They didn't screw anything up, this isn't worthless, I think it'll be fun just smashing them!" Everyone looked at Adrien, a little surprised. He looked up and laughed, a bit embarrassed, "I mean, you know, breaking stuff is supposed to be a stress reliever, right? Well, seeing as I have a big competition coming up, I could use some stress relief right about now, so why don't we give it a whack?" Everybody's faces cracked a smile, except Chloe's but she might never smile, and they nodded affirmations to Adrien.

He raised the stick of wood above his head and sent it crashing down on the first melon with surprising force, smashing it easily and sending chunks flying in every direction, making people squeal and dive for cover, some faster than others. Poor Adrien got the brunt of it, since he was standing right there above it, plenty of juice splashing on to his bare chest, a few seeds managing to wedge themselves in his hair.

"Hey!" Shouted Chloe, who had been standing too close to Adrien and gotten some watermelon staining her clothes, "Adrien!" She said, stamping her foot in the sand, "Look what you did!"

"Oh, geez, I'm sorry Chloe..." Adrien said, trying to make his smile seem one of reassurance and not laughter.

"Lighten up!" Kim said, grabbing the bat from Adrien and raising it himself, "Me next!" He cried, being the only warning before he smashed the bat against the already caved-in watermelon, smashing it in two big pieces, many other flying off in other directions, many more on to Chloe.

"What?" She exclaimed again, glaring at Kim before stamping towards him with murder in her eyes. Kim yelped and started booking it around the sandy beach, Chloe hot on his heels like a bat out of hell. Plenty of people were laughing to watch the big guy being chased around by the relative toothpick that was Chloe and her seething rage.

"I want to try!" Rose said, waving at Kim to toss her the bat. He obliged and threw it wildly, almost beaning Mylene in the head. Before Rose could pick it up, though, Alya was on top of it and grinning.

"Nuh-uh sister! I've got an idea!" Rose pouted but patiently stepped aside, "Yo, Adrien!" Alya said, taking a batter's stance and smirked, a glint in her eyes, "Batter up!"

Adrien grabbed one of the broken bits of the once-large watermelon, now a relatively easy size to throw. He hurled it, not too fast, but it was definitely not a slow pitch. Alya smacked the chunk with a satisfying crack of the bat, but instead of the piece bouncing off the wood and flying down the beach, it simply broke on impact and whacked against Ivan's chest, causing him to stir.

Alya quickly handed the bat off to Max, who was closest to her at the time and shimmied out of Ivan's line of sight. Max had the sensibility to take the chance and went to the pile of watermelons to break in a new one, "Better not ruin a perfectly good shirt," He mumbled to himself, taking off his shirt and tossing it aside, it had somehow managed to stay clean despite the smashing and he wanted it to stay that way.

Hefting up the bat like the others, Max took inspiration from Alya and went with a sports move, but this time it was golf. Swinging in a downward arc, the butt of the bat made a satisfying sound against the watermelon and started it rolling past the fire pit, almost crushing Juleka's toes, "Watch it!" She said. Alix laughed and chased after the melon as it rolled closer towards the surf, Adrien trying to catch up to her as they raced closer to the sounds of waves.

Marinette just hoped they weren't as far gone as Nino was, noting that he was still lying on the ground, snoring gently. Marinette left him where he was, if he was snoring, he was breathing. That was good.

"C'mon Max, lemme have a turn!" Rose said reaching for the bat as he held it teasingly above her head. He was only a few inches taller than she was, but his arm length made up for the fact that she was standing on tip toe.

"Haha, if you can get it!"

"Heads up!" Kim said, charging past the two, an angry Chloe zipping past the two, her speed knocking the two spinning towards the ground. Juleka rushed forward and managed to catch Rose, but flinched when Max hit the sand.

Alya sneaked up behind Marinette and grabbed her wrist, pulling her away from the laughter and smashing watermelon.

"Status report, girl," She insisted, a smirk beaming out from behind her seed-stained glasses.

"Good news, bad news?" Marinette said, laughing a little as she shrugged, "Adrien doesn't seem to have any interest in dating Chloe..."

"That's great news! What's the bad news? Oh no..." Alya gently put her hands on Marinette's shoulders, "Oh no, he didn't say he didn't have interest in you either, did he?"

"Well, not exactly..." Marinette muttered.

"Why that little punk!" Alya said, shaking her fist and gritting her teeth, "Don't worry, girl! We'll get through this together." Alya pulled Marinette's head to her chest and started stroking her hair, "Don't you worry a bit! I'll break his legs and we'll find you a new man! Or girl! Girls are a great way to get over guys!"

"Alya..." Marinette said, slightly muffled as her face was pressed into her friend's chest, "The bad news is I didn't manage to ask him if he liked me," She freed herself from Alya's grip and pushed herself back to arm's length, smiling softly, "I choked, you don't have to break his legs."

"Oh, well that's much better. I like Adrien."

"Yeah," Marinette sighed, looking over her shoulder at the boy as he chased Alix around, trying to get the watermelon she had caught from the surf, "Me too..."


	4. Flannels

Alya smiled at her friend and handed her the last of her beer, possibly the last of the alcohol at the party. Judging from that and the fact that Nino was already out like a light, the party was probably going to end within the hour. With everyone laughing and chasing each other and the watermelon pieces, this would be the perfect time for someone to get something private done.

"Here you go," Alya said, "I think all you need is some confidence."

"What?" Marinette said, "Alya, I-I can't!"

"Sure you can!" Alya insisted, pushing the bottle into Marinette's hands, "You're an amazing person, Mari. There's no way that anyone in their right mind would ever turn you down. And if he does, so what? At least you'll finally have talked to him! At least you'll know and can stop torturing yourself about it. Come on girl, if not for you, do it for me."

"For you?"

"Yeah, I want to see you succeed, girl. And I know you can do it if you just gave yourself a chance. Come on. You can do it Marinette."

Marinette reluctantly took the bottle and tossed it back, swallowing the last of it's contents in one go. She spluttered a bit, coughed, then turned towards the surf and marched off to find Adrien. She didn't have to go far, as she quickly found him holding half a watermelon easily over the head of Alix as she tried to jump and get it from him. Marinette found herself smiling easily at the scene, it seemed rather simple to say what was on her mind and in her heart at a time like this. She just hoped that she didn't say something embarrassing in front of Adrien.

"Adrien!" Marinette said, getting his attention long enough for Alix to jump on him, getting just enough height to smack the melon from his hands so she could run behind him, pick it up, and sprint away cackling.

"What's up, Marinette?" Adrien asked, wiping his hands clean on his shorts, smiling at her just as easily as she was smiling a few moments ago.

"We... didn't finish talking earlier," Marinette explained, her fingers tangling together despite her effort to appear casual.

"Oh!" Adrien said, smacking his forehead, "I'm sorry, Nino must've distracted me. You had something else to say to me then, right?"

"Uh, yeah," Why was this so hard? Adrien was the nicest person ever! He was kind and understanding and would never laugh at Marinette, no matter how strange or silly she acted. Maybe that's why it was so difficult. It would've been better if he were the type of person to laugh something off like a joke, to kid around and mess with people, but Marinette didn't think that she would've liked him that much if that were the case. She took a deep breath and steeled her nerves, silently praying that nothing would mess this up, especially her. She also added in one final prayer asking that nobody was behind her as she was about to bare her heart, "Adrien," she said, forcing the words out of her mouth like she was pulling off a Band-Aid, "I... was wondering if you'd like to get coffee sometime?"

"Sure."

Was it really that easy? Marinette cracked open her eyes to see Adrien standing there nonchalantly, leaning back casually, his hair slightly mussed from running around in the ocean spray. It was like he didn't even register her question he answered so easily.

"R-really?" Marinette squeaked, feeling her face blushing a deep red.

"Yeah, I'll swing by your place tomorrow morning. Around, I don't know, 8? Does that work?"

"Uh... y-yeah!" Marinette said, nodding in agreement, "8 is, 8 sounds. I mean, yeah! Totally! 8!"

Adrien chuckled and shook his head, putting his hand on her shoulder briefly before jogging lightly back towards the group to say goodbye to Mylene and Ivan as they were leaving. Marinette couldn't move from the spot, her legs anchored to the sand from a mixture of shock and joy. She slowly reached up and brushed her fingers across her shoulder, then reached a little higher to her face. She pinched her cheek. Stiff from smiling, she could still feel a light sting, however, confirming she wasn't dreaming. She wanted to jump up and down and shout with joy! But she also felt like throwing up. She couldn't believe it, she had done it! She really did it!

"Well?" Alya asked after they had arrived back at their apartment, Alix trailing a little behind, "How did it go? Tell me!"

Marinette hadn't said anything for the last few minutes of the party and had been walking home on autopilot as she daydreamed about coffee with Adrien. She had barely registered that Alya had even been asking her questions and trying to get her attention the whole way home.

"Oh Alya, it was wonderful!" Marinette squealed, jumping into bed and hugging a ladybug pillow tight to her chest, "I did it! I did it! I did it!"

"You sure did, girl! Now tell me the details!" Alya insisted, taking a seat on the edge of the bed as Marinette rolled around, clutching the pillow tightly, "When's the wedding?" She teased, getting a pillow to the face in response.

"It's nothing like that!" Marinette said, clearly flustered as she sat up, "We're just getting coffee tomorrow, that's all," She said, very pleased with herself and brushing out her pigtails with her fingers, her mind slowly drifting towards tomorrow.

Alya snapped her fingers in front of Marinette's face, making her jump in surprise, "Uh-uh, girl! You aren't spacing on me right now! I need to know what's going on!"

"Well he's coming here at 8 to pick me up and-"

"8?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Marinette, even when you have work, you don't get up until almost 9. On days off, they turn into nights off."

Marinette scoffed and shook her head, "What? No way! I can get up early!" Alya quirked an eyebrow, giving Marinette a look, "I'll just set more alarms than usual," The look persisted, "And put my phone across the room so I have to get up," Still, Alya didn't let up, "I mean, we are getting coffee, so I'll be awake, at least, right?" Marinette was beginning to sweat, "Could you make sure I'm up?" She begged.

"Fine, but you might want to pick out your outfit now, or else you'll end up wearing pajamas to your first date," Alya teased with a wink. She stood up and walked out to her room, stretching her arms up above her head as she yawned, "Good night, Marinette. I'm proud of you, girl."

Marinette didn't respond, something Alya had said was still sitting in her head. She needed an outfit. It was going to be her first date with Adrien. She did not have a lot of time, or options seeing as she had been planning on doing laundry tomorrow. Panic begun to set in. She bolted to her closet and ripped open the door, pulling out all her clothes. A spare work uniform, her hula outfit, bathing suit, pajamas, and other assorted clothes that she would only wear around the house, not in public, definitely not on a date. Especially a first date. With Adrien!

Marinette was biting her lip and running her fingers through her hair that hung loose around her shoulders. She was stressing out again. She thought about borrowing something from her roommates, but Alix was much shorter than Marinette, and Alya was already in bed. She was running out of options, however. She couldn't wear that dress, it was just coffee.

But then it hit her. It was just coffee. She didn't need to look incredibly spectacular or anything, she just had to look like she wasn't a slob. She grabbed a black tank top, usually she would just wear it with sweats but desperate times and all that. She looked in the mirror and held it up, what could she do with it?

Out of the corner of her eye, Marinette spotted a pair of shorts, grabbing those and laying them on the bed amid the chaos of her upturned drawers, Marinette needed to think. It was not going to be enough. She just needed something that could pull it all together. If only Alya was here, she could calm Marinette down, she always knew how to get Marinette to think rationally when she started to freak out like this.

That's it, Marinette thought, Alya. She pulled off entourages like this often. But there was something else she had that Marinette didn't. A flannel shirt.

Marinette tip-toed out of her room and slowly made her way to Alya's room, pushing the door open to a soft creak. Alya was a light sleeper, but Marinette hoped that she was too partied out to wake up easily tonight. Glancing quickly around the room, Marinette wished that her night vision was better than it was. The room was dark enough that she could only see shapes like that of Alya, laying in bed, her body slowly rising and falling with her breath.

Marinette breathed a sigh of relief. Good, she's still asleep. Marinette walked into the room, looking in every direction to try and spot the pile of clothes Alya might have hidden in corners. She stepped lightly to avoid waking her friend and found herself relying more on touch than sight to try and locate things. Marinette slid open Alya's drawers but only found underwear, socks, shirts, and the like. No overshirts to be found there. Being especially careful of closing it too hard, Marinette shut the drawers and looked around again.

Her eyes fell on Alya's sleeping form again. No. She must have taken it off. She couldn't still be wearing it, could she? Marinette crept closer to the bed she had been avoiding all this time in fear of awaking Alya. Marinette quietly sucked in air through her nose, holding her breath as she carefully peered over the side of the bed, squinting to try and enhance her view of her surroundings. The moonlight provided just enough light to see that her arms were smooth skin, uncovered. She had removed her flannel.

Marinette almost released her breath in relief right on to Alya's face but was able to stop herself. There was one other place she had thought that the flannel might be stored, and since she was right next to it, Marinette kneeled down and ran her fingers beneath Alya's bed, ready to pull her hand back quickly in case there was a spider or something else moving down there.

Luckily, she found no spiders. Unluckily she found no overshirts either. Marinette sighed quietly and resigned herself to asking for one in the morning. She silently stood and made her way towards the door, particularly proud of her stealth skill, although despondent about her search overall.

As Marinette reached for the door, she stopped and stared. She couldn't believe it. Sitting there, on the back of the door on a hook was an odd shape. Brushing her fingers slowly across it's surface Marinette almost screamed. It was the flannel! It had been there all along, right at the entrance! The absolute last place she could have possibly looked! It had been watching her, mocking her throughout the whole search as Marinette had fumbled around in the dark, trying to stifle all sounds she made or heard! Unbelievable!

Marinette took the flannel and grumbled as she made her way back to her room, tossing the article of clothing with the rest of her outfit for tomorrow's coffee, now tired enough to sleep. She shut off the light and flopped on to her bedspread, sighing and shutting her eyes, falling asleep almost immediately.


	5. Mugs

"Marinette!" Alya shouted, shaking her friend vigorously out of her quiet slumber.

"Ugh..." Marinette moaned, pulling the covers up over her head.

"Marinette, wake up!" Alya said again, shaking Marinette's shoulder, "I knew this would happen."

"Noooo..." Marinette responded weakly, rolling over in her bed to try and escape Alya.

"No is right, as in no more sleep girl! Get up! Adrien is waiting."

Something in that last sentence finally clicked in Marinette's mind. Alya only ever woke her up for important things. This must be important. Did she say...?

"Adrien!" Marinette gasped, bolting upright in bed, nearly knocking Alya on to the floor.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you! Adrien's here, Marinette. I told you you wouldn't be ready at 8." Alya said, shaking her head with a sigh. Marinette bolted out of bed and was busy throwing the clothes she slept in to the floor where the contents of her closet lay strewn about.

"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!" Marinette rambled to herself, grabbing the clothes she had laid out last night and throwing them on, moving at double time thanks to her panicked awakening. She took a look in the mirror and pouted as she looked at her tired face and bed head. "Alya," Marinette grumbled, collapsing on her bed and putting her head in her hands, "Tell Adrien to go home. I'm not ready. You were right, this was a bad idea."

"Oh, no way girl. Uh-uh!" Alya walked over to Marinette's dresser and grabbed a hairbrush. She took a seat behind Marinette and took a handful of her hair, gently starting to brush out the tangles and mess made from sleeping on it. "I know that this isn't the best start, but you know what? You didn't have the best start with him in general."

"Thanks Alya," Marinette said sarcastically.

"No, I'm serious!" Alya insisted, brushing along, "Think about it, you were shy, you kinda stalked him for a little bit, fangirling so hard whenever you saw him that you couldn't speak."

"This is supposed to make me feel better?"

"Would you let me finish? Marinette, it's kind of like your hair. You wake up and it's all a mess, tangled, matted, got a little drool mixed in there..." Alya took this point to wipe her hand on her jeans, "But with a little extra time and effort," Marinette felt a tug as Alya tied back one side of her hair, and then the other, "You can make it work out." Alya directed Marinette towards the mirror and smiled while she took a look, "And you turn out beautiful."

Marinette wiped at her eyes and sniffed, trying to disguise it with a laugh, "You're so cheesy."

"Hey, it worked, didn't it?" Alya said, standing up and putting her hand on her hip, "Now, c'mon, we don't want to keep Adrien waiting!" As she made her way to the door, Alya felt a hand grab her wrist. She turned to look Marinette in the face, now relatively clear except for some redness around the eyes.

"Thanks Alya."

"No problem, girl." Alya said, smiling back at her friend. They went out of the room and into the main space where Adrien was standing awkwardly next to the door. He was wearing a white floral print shirt and khaki shorts. He smiled when he saw Marinette and said:

"Goo-"

"Morning Sleeping Beauty," Alix said through a mouth of cornflakes. She was wearing her delivery uniform but still had bags under her eyes from waking up, "Glad to see you among the living."

Adrien chuckled lightly, scratching the back of his neck uncomfortably, "Sorry for coming so early, I didn't mean to wake your roommates up. I thought it would be alright."

"No Adrien, you're fine," Alya said, waving off his apology, "Some of us are used to being up early, and some of us... well, they need a little convincing sometimes." Alya shot a pointed look at Marinette who was blushing and fiddling with her fingers nervously.

"Yeah, and some of us like to sleep instead of entertaining guests for twenty minutes," Alix grumbled as she tossed her dish in the sink. She grabbed her key off the counter and walked past Adrien, "Have a nice date, you two." And with that she shut the door and was on her way to work.

"Sorry about Alix..." Marinette managed to squeak out, standing up a bit straighter.

"Yeah, she likes to sleep in almost as much as this one does," Alya said, elbowing Marinette in the ribs teasingly.

"No, that's fine, really," Now it was Adrien's turn to toss away the apology, "Besides, I think she was just giving me a hard time. She's my friend too, you know. I shouldn't have troubled you guys so much. So, with that said, I think it's time we get out of your hair," Adrien said, smiling at Alya, was he... blushing? "Marinette? Shall we go?"

"Huh? Oh! Uh, y-yeah! Let's... go!"

Adrien held the door open for Marinette and smiled at her. She looked back at Alya and waved goodbye, a huge smile plastered on her face. It wasn't very far to the coffeeshop that Adrien had picked out but it felt much longer to both of them. Marinette was too scared to open her mouth, worried that she would say something wrong and ruin her first date. Adrien didn't really know what to say, Marinette was back to being really quiet for some reason, and it was making him uneasy.

"Have you been to this place before?" Adrien asked, gesturing towards the small coffeeshop that was coming up. It had a little green awning covering two tables each with two chairs so couples could drink outside if they wanted.

"Um... it looks familiar," Marinette said, knowing fully well that she walked past it almost every day.

Adrien smiled to himself, happy that he was at least able to get Marinette to answer him. "Well its owned by an old guy named Fu, I've only had the coffee from here, but he sells tea too. Do you like tea?"

Marinette had to think about that, when she lived at home, she drank tea with her mother rather often, but once she moved out it had been coffee almost exclusively. Usually she could only get up and moving after having some, but the sudden wake up and the fact that she was actually with Adrien was keeping her rather alert, "I haven't had tea in a long time, but it isn't bad. D-do you?" Marinette asked quietly.

Adrien was taken aback, he didn't think that she would ask anything, or keep a conversation alive for that matter, but she was trying, so that was good. "I never really tried it before. Fu keeps telling me that I should, but I don't think it's for me."

"Fair enough." And that was that. They walked in slightly awkward silence for a little bit before reaching the front door to the establishment. Adrien held the door open for her again, which Marinette thought was very sweet. No wonder she liked Adrien.

Marinette walked into the small shop, there was a booth squeezed in the room across from the counter where an old asian man stood, staring at a painting on the wall hanging above the booth. He seemed so intent that Marinette didn't think he noticed her. She too examined the picture and was greeted by a turtle on top of a lily pad, wearing a small ladybug as a hat. The painting was bright and seemed very happy and calm, giving the entire shop a sense of coziness instead of stuffiness one would expect from such a small, hot shop.

Adrien pushed into the shop just behind Marinette and smiled, waving to the man behind the counter despite the proximity they had to one another, "Hey Mr. Fu! Good morning."

"Ah!" The man said, turning to look at Adrien and Marinette. He bowed to his guests and came back up smiling jovially. "Aloha, Adrien. What may I get you and your girlfriend today?" He asked kindly. Marinette couldn't reply, too embarrassed to speak, she blushed deeply and let Adrien speak.

But Adrien didn't speak either.

"Did I say something wrong?" Fu asked, quirking his head to the side as he examined the two's red faces and silent expressions.

"Um, n-no!" Marinette said, surprised to hear herself speaking up, "We just... this is our first date and we didn't really think it would be that obvious, is all!"

"Ah, I see," Mr. Fu said, stroking his small gray beard with a knowing look on his face, "Then you two shall enjoy free drinks on this day. Please, wait outside, I shall have them for you quickly."

Marinette nodded a thank you to the old man and turned around to head outside, only to come face to face with Adrien's chest. She felt her face flush and tried not to think about last night when he wasn't wearing a shirt. She glanced up into Adrien's face to see he wasn't actually looking at her, but instead still gaping into thin air. Slowly, she reached up and waved her hand in front of his face, then snapped her fingers. No response came from either stimuli.

Nervously, she bit her lip and reached to his cheek, gently touching it. She tried not to fixate on how smooth it was under her fingertips, or how warm the red blush had made it. When Adrien's breath hitched at her touch, she almost pulled away, but Adrien was quicker and took a hold of her hand with his and looked down into her eyes, smiling again.

"Sorry," He said, a cat like grin spreading across his face as he released her hand which had grown sweaty from her slight panic. Adrien turned to open the door outside and Marinette took the chance to quickly wipe her palms on her pants to try and dry them in case he were to want to hold her hand again.

What if he didn't want to? Marinette felt herself panicking again even as she stepped out towards the table, unconsciously taking the seat that Adrien had pulled out for her. What if he thought she was gross? Some kind of greasy, sweaty, silent monster? She should say something, apologize for her sweaty palms! It was just nerves, he just scared her after all. Oh no, that made it sound like she was scared of him. She was scared of him!

But it didn't seem like Adrien had even noticed that Marinette's hands had been clammy. In fact, he reached across the table and touched them again, trying to get her to stop fidgeting with them and actually look at him. It worked. Marinette snapped to attention and stared right into his deep green eyes.

"Hey, you ok?" He asked, "I didn't mean to startle you back there, I just wasn't ready for Mr. Fu to say that right out, you know?"

Marinette nodded silently. Adrien laughed heartily.

"Ok, so you can hear me then," Adrien said teasingly, crossing his arms on the table and leaning over them to look deep into Marinette's bright blue eyes. She nodded again. Adrien cracked a sly grin again, "Alright, I've got an idea. You're nervous and so am I. I talk too much when I'm nervous and you seem to clam up when you are. How about we have a little fun? I'll ask you a simple question and you'll answer me without talking. Sound good?"

Nod.

"Cool. So, Marinette, are you excited about our first date?"

Nod.

"Me too. I suppose asking how long you liked me would be hard to answer. But considering your current position, I'm guessing you had someone help you with asking me out?"

Nod.

"Was it Nino? He knows me pretty well, and I know the two of you kinda hung out for a while before I came along."

Marinette shook her head no.

"Really? Huh, I thought he was hiding something from me, since he's such a bad liar. He always gets weird when you and Alya show up somewhere we're hanging out. Oh! Was it Alya?"

Marinette nodded a yes.

"Well it's nice that you have a friend like that. You and Alix are friends, right? I mean, you do share an apartment together, so I guess it's kind of obvious you get along."

Yes.

"Do your parents live on island?"

Yes.

"Oh yeah? That's pretty cool. My dad technically does but he's usually traveling because of business. Hmm... What else could I ask you? Do you like music?"

Yes.

"Duh, she likes music," Adrien muttered to himself as he whacked the side of his head, "Who doesn't? Do you like Jagged Stone? He's one of my favorites, not to cloud your judgement or anything."

Marinette was starting to open up now and was going to answer verbally but remembered the game they were playing and instead opted to nod vigorously to show her support.

"And you wouldn't be lying to me, right?" Adrien said slyly.

Marinette proudly shook her head no, her pigtails flapping back and forth across her face.

"Haha, that's good to know. Hey, maybe we could go see a concert together sometime, that would be fun right?"

Marinette blushed a bit but nodded just the same.

Mr. Fu stepped out of his shop, holding a tray in his hands, two mugs sitting on it, both steaming hot and both smelling lovely. Mr. Fu set the tray down and Marinette noticed that he was much shorter than he had initially seemed, guessing that the floor behind the counter was raised, Marinette paid it no mind and accepted the mug offered to her. It was black with little ladybugs crawling around the sides. Adrien's was a green mug with a black cat on the side, it's tail curling to form the handle of the mug. Mr. Fu bowed and took the tray, "Apologies for not matching cups, they are being washed at the moment."

"It's ok, Mr. Fu," Adrien said, smiling to the old man, "I got my favorite cup anyway!"

"Thank you so much, Mr. Fu," Marinette said, bowing her head to the elderly man.

He chuckled and turned back into the shop, "Remember, free! Enjoy your first date!"

Adrien raised his mug and smirked at Marinette. She smiled back, not nervously this time, but happily. Their mugs clinked together and they looked into each others eyes both saying "Cheers" at the same time.


	6. Waterfalls

The drinks were excellent. Marinette wasn't sure what Adrien had gotten but she had coffee with vanilla and milk. It was sweet and was strong enough to shake the remaining cobwebs out of her head, which Marinette was thankful for because running off coffee and running off panic were very different feelings and she honestly preferred coffee to panic. It was much calmer.

Adrien seemed to enjoy his drink too for what it was worth, finishing it almost as quick as Marinette had, only leaving a few extra breaths between sips and mentioning that he liked it and that he came here almost every day.

"Do you like it?'

Marinette smiled and nodded, still not too confident in her voice around him yet. That was okay though, Adrien didn't seem to mind.

"That's good. I was kind of worried that you might be against it. Chloe didn't like it when I brought her here," Adrien said, scratching the back of his head. He stood up and dropped a twenty on the table, "Ready to go?"

"I-I thought he said it was free?" Marinette said, grabbing her purse and frantically riffling through it, looking for some money. Adrien laughed, it was a warm laugh, but it didn't feel uplifting like normal. Marinette felt small and like she was put on the spot, as if she should have known something that she didn't.

"Yeah it is, I still want to tip him. Do you not tip?"

"I always tip!" Marinette said, standing up also and frowning. She knew that money was often tight for people working in the service industry and she always tried her best to make their day better. But she couldn't possibly match what Adrien was putting down.

"Good," Adrien said, "Let's go. By the way, I'm glad that you've started talking." He smiled again with that catlike grin. Marinette blushed, realizing that she had. She also realized that those were some of the first words she said the whole time she was with him. She really hoped that it didn't offend Adrien.

Marinette had to skip a little to catch up to Adrien who had already started walking. Even though she had long legs she was shorter than Adrien and the head start had really given him some distance on her.

"Wait up!" She said as she caught up, slowing slightly when she did. Marinette was happy to notice that he also slowed slightly to match her pace.

"Where to now?" Adrien asked, looking at her expectantly.

"Huh?" Marinette said, feeling kind of dumb about the question. She hadn't expected anything else. She had said coffee, they had gotten coffee. Simple as that. But... more?

"Yeah, I picked the first place, is there anywhere that you would like to go?" Adrien asked. Marinette was keenly aware of how long it took him to blink while he was looking at her. It was kind of eerie. Adrien seemed to pick up on this also and looked away, playing with one of his bangs, "Sorry, was I staring?"

"Only a little," Marinette giggled. It was nice to see him get flustered around her. It made him seem more normal. Something she could actually act around. "It's okay, I was just kind of caught off guard."

"So then," Adrien said, clapping his hands together, "With that out of the way, what should we do next?" He said, stopping in his tracks and turning to look at Marinette.

Marinette frowned, "You're doing it again."

"No I'm not!" He said, smirking as he continued to not blink.

"Yes you are!" Marinette said, covering her face with her arms, "Stop staring at me!" Despite her protest, Marinette couldn't help but smile at his antics. She was actually kind of grateful for Adrien's goofy actions, it put her at ease. Like she was his friend.

"What, I can't look at my date?" He asked, stepping closer, still unblinking.

Marinette laughed and pushed his face away, "Shut up! You're embarrassing me!" Marinette felt something grab her wrist and tug her towards Adrien.

"So would it be worse if I did... this?" Adrien asked slyly, his arm pulling on Marinette's wrist until she was set off balance. His other hand swooped against the small of her back and supported her as he shifted his weight from one hip to the other, swinging Marinette down into a french dip, Marinette's free hand reflexively shooting out to wrap around his shoulder so that she could hold herself up.

Marinette's face was a hot red mess. It was only inches away from Adrien's. He wasn't doing much better as he realized that this was kind of inappropriate for a first date. The awkwardness was only increased from their proximity and the heat coming off of both of their faces. Finally Marinette responded, clearing her throat with a small cough first.

"Um, yeah. A... a little..."

"Hey Adrien!" Came a shout down the street, Marinette glowered and turned her head upside down to see the approaching figure, "And... Marinette?"

"Kim." Marinette growled.

Adrien stared at Kim who was looking between the two of them in the awkward stance. Marinette still glaring at Kim. It might have been awkward but it was a nice, private kind of awkward. Intimate even. Why did he always have to show up at the worst possible times?

"Hey cousin," Kim said worriedly.

"Kim..." Marinette growled again.

Adrien slowly helped Marinette regain her balance as she stood stalk still and pointedly pouting at Kim, her hands balled up.

Kim gulped and laughed a little, "Am I interrupting?"

"N-no!" Adrien said hurriedly, waving his hands back and forth, "We weren't doing anything!"

"It certainly looked like something," Kim said slyly, winking at Adrien.

"Yeah I thought so too!" Marinette slowly turned to look across the street where Rose was standing, a pair of binoculars slung around her neck. "It really looked like you two were having fun!"

Marinette's face got red again. "Does everyone just follow me around?" She shouted.

"I didn't follow you, for the record," Kim pointed out, "I was going to work."

"I was following you!" Rose said, crossing the street to come up to the others, "Alya told me, and I promised to keep tabs on the two of you and make sure you get into hanky-panky."

"Don't you mean make sure we don't get into hanky-panky?" Adrien asked.

Rose shrugged and smiled, "Sure, whatever."

"Did anyone else come?" Marinette groaned, letting her head fall into her hands.

"Only a few," Rose said, "Alya had some stuff to take care of first so she and Juleka were going to meet up with me later on. Nino has been driving me around in his car for the most part. Mylene wanted to but she has to open the shop this morning."

"That's a few?" Marinette said, "That's almost everyone!"

"Well, hey!" Rose said, patting Marinette on the back, "Just be glad Nathaniel didn't see you guys!" she giggled happily.

"Well, I'll leave you guys to it, then, later!" Kim said, waving and continuing to jog towards the record shop. He must have forgotten his skateboard at home or something.

"Just pretend you guys didn't see me," Rose suggested, hurrying back across the street and jumping into Nino's Jeep. How on earth did Marinette not notice it earlier? It had been sitting right there.

She sighed and straightened herself, looking forlornly at Adrien. That was so not cool. Her friends were stalking her? To make sure that her date went okay? That was none of their business. Well, she could understand Alya, Alya had helped Marinette do this. Without her it probably never would have happened.

"So," Adrien said, coughing into his hand, "Where to next?"

Marinette was struck by this, "Wh... Y-you still want to continue? After all that craziness just happened? It was so awkward!"

"All of what?" Adrien asked with a wink, "I didn't see anybody." Marinette blushed and stood there, taken aback for a moment. Then she started to chuckle, shaking her head and starting to walk the opposite of the way they were going, away from the record shop and past Mr. Fu's shop. The mugs had already been cleared and the money had been removed. This time it was Adrien's turn to play catch up.

"Hey!" Adrien said, hurrying to reach her, laughing as he took stride next to her, "Where are you going in such a rush?"

Marinette grinned and glanced at Adrien, he didn't seem nearly as frightening as he was before. "It's a surprise." Marinette said, putting her finger to her lips and winking. Adrien had surprised her with the coffee shop. Now she got to surprise him. And knowing that her friends were following behind in a car meant that they would actually get to be alone this time.

Adrien smiled and shut up, following her as she lead the way closer to the beach. He trusted her every move it seemed, not batting an eye as she started to head down a side street and up towards a hiking trail. Having been a tour guide for quite some time now, Marinette knew her way around the area and all the good spots to be. She knew where tourists and locals would go, she knew where a car was needed and, more importantly, where one couldn't reach.

At this time of day, it wasn't too hot yet and the tour groups weren't out yet. Stepping on the path, the feeling of isolation was almost instant. The few sounds of civilization was cut out rather quickly from the trees and brush. The light was blocked out by the thick foliage and that which filtered through was muted and became a mottling of gold and green and gray, painting the path like a watercolor painting.

Marinette turned and smiled back at Adrien, not realizing that she had sped up her pace and left him behind her. Or maybe he had stopped walking to admire how pretty the forest was at this time of day. Perhaps he was slightly shocked by how quickly you could be cut off from the rest of the world and how little you could care that you were. "You okay?" Marinette asked.

Adrien smiled and started after her, picking up the pace until he was standing next to her, "Perfect. Let's keep going."

So they did. Marinette lead the way, every so often saying something she would on a tour. The first few times she said it loud, forgetting that it was just the two of them. After that she had gotten quiet, muttering the things to herself and the motions she made much smaller. It was mostly muscle memory that she was reciting back to herself.

"You know you can speak up," Adrien said, smiling at her, "I'm interested in what you have to say."

"It's just silly tour notes," Marinette said, blushing as she kicked a pebble along the path.

"So? I've never taken a tour of the island. Give me one!"

"Why?"

"Because I want to see the world through your eyes."

...

...

...

"Wow." Marinette said, not feeling silly anymore.

"Was it that cheesy?" Adrien asked, smiling bashfully and sticking his hands deep into his pockets.

"Oh yeah."

Marinette kept walking, but this time she would say everything that she would say on the tour. Not as loud as she had at first. This time it was just to Adrien, she even found herself using different terminology and speaking more one on one. And Adrien would listen intently, seemingly hanging on to every word she said. His eyes were wide again and not blinking. If he did he might not be able to see what she was. If he blinked the illusion might be gone, they would both wake up, Adrien at 7 or 8 in the morning and Marinette much closer, or past, noon. The date might never have happened and the dream would leave something behind.

But Adrien didn't blink. And Marinette kept talking, realizing that she was talking more than she had ever talked in Adrien's presence before.

Then they finally reached it, their destination. Marinette didn't say anything that she normally did on any of her tours, only what she thought every time she saw it.

"Isn't it beautiful? It's my favorite stop on the tours."

It was the waterfall that was tucked away in the forest. The same one that was the last stop on the tour she had been doing just the day before when she had gone to the party and decided to finally ask Adrien out. And here he was. Here they were. Together.

"Yeah." Adrien said, awestruck. He turned towards Marinette and smiled warmly. That same smile that made her melt like butter. But this time it was also holding her together. She felt the butterflies that usually flew around in her stomach migrate to her heart and made it flutter. "It really is something."


	7. Hands

The couple stayed there in the little sanctuary for quite a while, not many words being exchanged between them. There didn't need to be, necessarily. They spoke about things casually, the bakery Marinette's parents run, how she and Alya get along, how the surfing season is going for Adrien, things like that.

Sitting out there in the wild next to the waterfall, Marinette could've stayed out there for hours, simply listening to Adrien talk. It was much better to listen to him up close and personal than it was when she was just eavesdropping on a conversation. She was also feeling more confident and safe as he talked, just looking at him seemed to give her new energy and a sense of wellbeing.

Adrien, meanwhile, couldn't help but smile while he was around Marinette, she seemed so happy that it spread into Adrien and made him feel warm. Even talking about the weather made him forget about the rest of the world outside and the problems it contained, not just for him, but his friends too. Even just being on this date might get him in trouble with Natalie, or worse, his father.

But what usually caused him concern was exactly what kept that sense of foreboding at bay. Adrien was able to act as if no time had passed in this stagnant area, the only thing moving around him was an occasional breeze, the sounds of the city blocked off by the wilderness and pounding of the water as it crashed down into a small pool. This left nothing but the sound of Marinette's voice to be heard.

It was a remarkable voice. Adrien had never heard much of it, but it already started to seem familiar and, if he tried, he could probably pick it out of a crowd if need be. And, when surfing season really started to pick up again, he might need it to find her among the crowds of onlookers.

"So what's it like to be a big shot surfer?" Marinette asked.

"Huh?" Adrien had been hoping to avoid this discussion, he really didn't like talking about himself all that much, it made him feel... conceited, "Well, it's a lot of work, that's for sure. It can get tiring after all the practices and then everyone wants to talk to you, interview you, or just have you sign something a billion times. Honestly, it isn't the career I would have picked out for myself," He shrugged, "But I do enjoy actually surfing. It's so nice to just be out there on the water and let the rest of the world go."

Marinette was hanging on his words, it wasn't often that Adrien said stuff like that, so she made sure to commit it to memory. "If you don't want to do it professionally, then why do you?"

Adrien paused, he didn't want to tell her the truth. He didn't want to say that he couldn't let his father down. He couldn't say that his father was forcing him to not give it up. "Well, do you want to be a tour guide your whole life?" He responded.

Now it was Marinette's turn to be taken aback, the words weren't said harshly, so it wasn't an insult or anything like that. But it did make her think. Did she want to be a tour guide forever? Obviously not. While she loved the place she lived, being a tour guide wasn't all that glamorous of a career, "I guess not..." She said, "Ok then, better question: If you could be anything for a career, what would it be?"

Adrien smiled. He had to think about that one for a little bit, he was never really given a chance to ask that of himself, much less consider it to answer someone else. But there was one thing that seemed to stick in his head: "A super hero." Adrien replied, flexing his muscles in a goofy, stand out pose.

Marinette laughed and rolled her eyes, "No silly, I'm really asking you," She said, punching his arm gently and watching him deflate slightly.

"Well what do you want to be?"

"Hmm..." Marinette said, thinking, "Don't laugh."

"I wouldn't dream of it."

"Fine. I've always wanted to be, well, I don't know... Maybe a fashion designer? Or something like that? I don't know, it's silly, besides I'll probably just end up inheriting the shop from my parents and be a baker."

"No!" Adrien said, a little quickly. He blushed slightly but kept going, "No I think that's really cool. Have you talked to your parents about it?"

"Well... no, not really," Marrinette was starting to feel a little uncomfortable again, getting embarrassed talking about her hopes and dreams around the coolest guy she ever met, "Why? Have you asked your dad about a budding career as Bat Man?" She teased.

Adrien shook his head, glad that the question wasn't delivered seriously, so that he could answer it without being serious, "Hey now, I think I'm a little less broody than Bat Man."

"What would you be then? Super Man? Spider-Man?"

"No, I think I'd be the suave savior, the feline fighter, the man who means bad luck for all his villains: Chat Noir!" Adrien said, standing in a hilarious pose, looking like he was prepared to fight a hundred invisible ninjas.

For Marinette's credit, she tried really hard not to laugh. But she just couldn't hold it in. She burst out, grabbing her sides and bending over as a fit of giggles spread out through her body. "Hahaha! Wha- Who is Chat Noir?" She asked when she regained her breath, wiping a small tear from the corner of her eye.

Adrien didn't look surprised at all, in fact he also had a huge smile on his face, and the laughter only seemed to make him puff up with even more pride, "Chat Noir is one of the coolest dudes in the whole world! Along with his partner, Ladybug, they fight to conquer and defeat multiple foes while the true evil lurks, hidden in the shadows. He's from a comic book that Nathaniel is making."

Marinette didn't know that Nathaniel was making a comic. She just knew that he made money by doing sketches and caricatures for tourists, since there wasn't anyone else like him, he actually made quite a bit. She didn't talk to Nathaniel all that much, so she had no idea that he did something like that.

It wasn't that Marinette didn't want to talk to Nathaniel, he just didn't really talk back when she did. If he did it was often a mumbled jumble of words, and he never, ever let her see what he was drawing on his sketchpad, so maybe that was when he was working on this comic that she never got to see.

"Have you read it?" She asked.

"Yeah, a little bit. It's pretty good, I like it a lot," Adrien said.

"I'd like to read it some time," Marinette said absentmindedly, looking off towards the way they came.

"What's wrong?" Adrien asked, noticing the look on her face. There was a beat before Marinette responded, coming out of a small stupor.

"Huh? Oh, nothing, I just think the coffee is wearing off, is all. I'm feeling kind of tired."

Adrien stepped towards Marinette and put a hand on her shoulder, causing a small shudder to trail up her back. She tried not to jump or go too rigid, afraid that Adrien would pull back. "Hey, if you're tired, I'll walk you home."

Marinette smiled and looked up at Adrien, she didn't want the date to end, but she also didn't want to knock out in front of him. If she didn't get enough rest, Marinette could get a headache and become cranky, and she didn't want that to happen to Adrien, or anything bad to happen that would ruin her memory of that day. She nodded, "Thanks. I'm sorry that I'm ditching you..."

"What? No!" Adrien said, shaking his head and waving his hands in front of his face, "No way, if you're tired, then you need sleep. It's your body's way of telling you you need a break, right?"

Marinette nodded. She got an idea, but she blushed just at the thought of it. They were walking back down the forest path now, Marinette wanted to reach out and hold on to Adrien's hand, but she was worried that might be too forward. She contented herself with fiddling with her own fingers as they walked through the quiet forest.

"I just want to say something before we get back out there," Adrien was the one who had broken the silence. It was sudden and Marinette turned her head to pay all her attention to his words. Unfortunately, since she wasn't focused on where she was going, her foot caught on a small root, pitching her forward.

Marinette was used to falling, she was really clumsy and it happened often enough that she had started carrying Band-Aids in her purse. She braced for impact, wincing slightly, expecting her hands to crash into the hard dirt and sting. But it didn't happen, instead she was caught, her hands pressed against something firm, but also warm, not like the ground at all. She cracked open her eyes and found herself staring at Adrien's chest right in front of her, his arms wrapped around hers to hold her up.

"Whoa, you ok?" He asked. Now Marinette was really blushing.

"Um, y-yeah. S-sorry about that..." She stammered.

"It's fine, Marinette," Adrien said with an understanding smile. He let her go for the most part, but when Marinette took a step back from him, she felt something caught on her hand. Looking down, she saw Adrien's hand wrapped around hers. She was almost freaking out too much to hear his next words:

"Like I was saying," Adrien said, "I had a great time with you. And I'd love to do this again some time. I'll let you know when I'm free ok?"

Marinette didn't trust herself to speak without being reduced to a babbling mess, so she just nodded her agreement. Adrien smiled and kept walking, not releasing her hand. She didn't mind one bit.

When they left the forest, the sun was hot overhead, beating down on them intensely. Adrien looked up at the sky, squeezing an eye shut against the glare, "Man, we were in there for a while," He said to himself.

"Adrien! There you are!" It was a shrill yell, breaking Marinette's happy thoughts about how well her hand and Adrien's fit together. She wasn't too familiar with the voice, so it wasn't any of her friends, so who...?

"Oh! Hey Chloe!" Adrien said, letting go of Marinette's hand to wave to his old friend. Marinette blushed and clutched her hands together, now she was embarrassed as Chloe approached the two of them. She was joined by a shorter redheaded girl who wore glasses and a pink headband.

"Where have you been, Adrien? I was trying to call you!"

"I was just hanging out with Marinette. You remember her, right? She was at the party last night."

Chloe looked Marinette over with a dissatisfied sneer, then, deciding that Marinette wasn't even worth the breath to insult, she turned to look at Adrien, "You were supposed to be at the beach an hour ago! Sabrina and I have been looking all over for you!"

"Did Natalie send you two to track me down?" Adrien laughed, "She could've just called!"

"She did, Adrien," said the redhead, Sabrina, in an attempt to join the discussion, "So did we."

"Yeah, you might want to check your phone when you're... hanging out..." Chloe said, shooting a withering look at Marinette who was feeling like less and less a part of the conversation.

Adrien reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, checking his messages to see about two hundred text messages and forty-five missed calls.

"I thought you said you were only looking for him for an hour?" Marinette asked in her own attempt to jump into the conversation.

"Yeah, so?" Chloe asked.

"Chill, Chloe," Adrien sighed, raising his arms to try and calm her, "I'll be heading over soon, I just have to make sure that Marinette gets home safe."

"Oh! I can wal-" Marinette tried to be helpful, but was just cut off by Chloe:

"She can walk just fine, Adrien. You're late enough as it is!"

"Chloe, it'll only take a minute," it was becoming apparent that Adrien was beginning to get bothered by Chloe's behavior, "Why don't you and Sabrina go tell Natalie you found me and I'm on my way over?"

Chloe still didn't look convinced, she raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms, expecting something out of Adrien.

He sighed, defeated, "Chloe, you owe me one. And if you do this then I'll owe you... again."

"Fine," Chloe said, turning to her friend, "Come on Sabrina."

Adrien and Marinette waited until they were out of earshot before letting out a breath that neither of them had realized they were holding, "Sorry about that," Adrien laughed a little, "Duty calls, I guess."

"It's fine!" Marinette insisted, "You know, she wasn't wrong. You are late, and it isn't far to get to my house, I'll be fine walking by myself."

"Yeah, I know," Adrien said, "But I wanted to walk you back."

Marinette blushed and looked away. She felt Adrien's fingers tap her own, quietly wondering if she wanted to hold hands again. Of course, she obliged and they locked their hands together, making their way back to Marinette's place.

She waved him goodbye, wishing she had the confidence to say or do something more meaningful than just goodbye. But in the end, they just smiled and parted. Marinette went straight to her room and flopped on top of her bed, grabbing her ladybug pillow and pulling it in to her chest for a tight hug, a huge grin spreading across her face.

In the other room, Alix sat at the counter, eating what Alya had made her for lunch. "So," she said, "Are we going to ask how her date went?"

"Not right now," Alya said with a smile, "We'll let her have it to herself for right now."


	8. Cereal

Marinette spent several hours describing what happened to Alya, the two of them talking well into the night, only stalling long enough for dinner and to say good night to Alix.

The discussion of the date probably lasted longer than the actual date itself, with Alya and Marinette sharing a tub of ice cream as night crept up behind them. But they didn't pay any attention to the time, neither of them were going to work in the morning, so they would be able to sleep off whatever exhaustion they got from staying up so late.

"But he didn't kiss you goodbye!" Alya said suddenly, "Marinette! Why didn't you kiss him?"

"Because, Alya! I was too scared to! And besides, if he really wanted to kiss me, he would've done it... Wouldn't he?"

"Girl, all I can say for sure is that you missed a big opportunity. Alix and I could've vacated the premises and given the two of you some 'alone time,'" Alya said, wiggling her eyebrows and using air quotes around the last words.

"Ew!" Marinette laughed, sticking her tongue out, "Alya, I'm not that kind of girl, you know that. Besides, Adrien isn't that kind of guy, either. I wouldn't like him as much as I did if he was."

"You're right," Alya said, "You know who does seem that kind of girl? Chloe whatserface. The girl that Adrien brought to the party, she interrupts your date and tries to steal him right out from under you? What a sleaze."

"Oh come on Alya, she can't be all bad. Everyone deserves a chance."

"Yeah and she used hers to be rude and then end your date early. What's her deal? And you said she had another girl with her? What, like a groupie or something?"

"I think it was more of a personal assistant?" Marinette said with a shrug, taking another bite of ice cream. Her brow furrowed and she frowned. She didn't feel all that happy anymore, was it because she was sharing all this with Alya? Her little secret get away with the man of her dreams, and she was so freely gossiping about it? No, that couldn't be it. She loved Alya like a sister and would share anything with her, no secret too great. Alya was the first person Marinette told about her crush.

It must've been talking about Chloe and her friend- Sapphire? No... Sabrina- behind their backs. It wasn't like her. It made her feel... dirty. It wasn't a feeling she was really comfortable with, so she tried to push the thought of the two girls out of her mind and go back to talking about the date.

"Can we please talk about the good stuff, Alya? I really don't want to remember what went wrong."

"Ok," Alya said, scooping out some more ice cream for herself, "He walked you home. How very gentlemanly of him."

"That's not even the best of it!" Marinette said, "Instead of going along with Chloe, he insisted on walking me home first. I told him that I was fine, of course, because I would've been fine. But he said that it would be no trouble at all and went ahead and chose to walk me home. I mean, he was probably late for whatever it was he had to do, and I feel a little bad about inconveniencing him like that, but he genuinely seemed to not care, like I was his top priority and honestly, Alya, it felt so amazing to be chosen over Chloe like that."

"But you didn't kiss him," She said, raising her eyebrows. Not flirtatiously this time, not even mockingly, it was an honest question.

Marinette had to give some thought to her response. Did she like Adrien? Yes, of course. Did she want to kiss him? Yeah, she still does. She felt great about him walking her home. The date was a huge success. What had stopped her? Honestly, she didn't even really understand it. They didn't even hug. "I was just too nervous to initiate anything..." Marinette chose, "I don't think that I'm bold enough to start anything like that, and since he didn't..."

"Girl, look at me." Marinette hadn't even realized that her gaze had drifted down to her lap where she was slowly spinning the spoon between her fingers. A gentle hand cupped her cheek and pulled her eyes to Alya's, framed by her glasses, "You are so bold enough to do something like that."

"What?" Marinette sputtered, trying to shake her head and wave away the statement, almost slapping herself in the process, "Me? No way!" She could feel the blood rushing into her cheeks, a blush creeping across her pale skin.

Alya grabbed her friend by the shoulders and held her back against the couch, forcing Marinette to calm down and look into her eyes. "Yes. You are. Marinette, you're the one who asked out Adrien Agreste. Adrien Agreste! The boy of your dreams, the guy that so many girls heartthrob over. Not only that, but he said yes. Marinette, look me in the eyes and tell me that you can't be brave enough to do something else. Marinette, you can do whatever you want to."

"I..." Marinette said slowly, she had to think. If she could do whatever she wanted to, then she only had to do what she wanted to. So what did she want? "I want to see him again."

Alya cracked a smile, her serious demeanor gone, replaced by her supportive, happy self, "Then you should. Did you get his number?"

Marinette's eyes glanced up, trying to remember if that was a thing that had come up. Maybe during the waterfall? Uh oh...

"You didn't, did you?" Alya said, slumping back and crossing her arms.

Marinette laughed nervously, "Well, we know where he lives, at least," she pointed out.

"At least it's something," Alya said, rolling her eyes as she stood up, "I'm going to bed, Don't do anything too crazy, ok girl? We can go see Adrien together tomorrow."

Sure enough, the next day, Marinette woke Alya up. Which was weird enough on its own, usually Alya had to drag her lazy roommate out of her room by the ankles to get to work on time. But today, Marinette was all dressed up, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, bouncing in front of Alya's door after having knocked in rapid succession like a woodpecker pounding into a tree.

"Ready to go?"

"Good morning to you too," Alya said, wiping sleep out of an eye before placing her glasses on, "What time is it?"

"Almost 10. I've been up for a while now. I made breakfast, hurry and eat so we can get going!" Alya looked around Marinette and saw a pot of coffee, now empty. Sitting next to it was Alya's favorite mug with gentle steam curling off the top.

"Breakfast implies food, Marinette," Alya said, brushing past her friend and into the kitchen to get two bowls for cereal.

"We don't have time for that!" She whined, bouncing up behind Alya.

"Girl, it looks like you have to go to the bathroom," Alya said, glancing over her shoulder at the impatient Marinette. She had to say though, even if her friend was sleep deprived, caffeine-high, and a little insane, she could throw together an outfit like nobody's business.

"Alyaaaa..." Marinette complained as her friend was purposely slowing down her movements to bother Marinette.

"What? It's not like he's going to the main land or anything, he'll be there whether we show up now or in five hours. Chill out, where's your aloha spirit?"

Marinette stopped and frowned, looking at the bowl of cereal that Alya had made for herself, and then at the empty bowl next to her. Her stomach growled low. "Fine! I'll eat something and then can we please get going?"

"Only if you sit down while you eat," Alya said through a mouthful of real breakfast. She walked past Marinette and grabbed her cup of coffee, "Thanks for the coffee by the way."

Marinette sighed, trying to calm down. Her nerves were frazzled enough as it was and she was trying to ride her own nervous energy. If she tried to slow down, she would inevitably try to stop herself, and she didn't want to go through all that. Not after seeing how great just going for it was. She had to act otherwise nothing would get done. Alya had shown her that. And now her friend was trying to show her that she couldn't just rush into things. Marinette had to wonder how her friend had become so wise as she took a seat next to her and started eating the bowl of cereal.

Maybe it was because she had an outsider perspective on the whole matter. Thinking back on it, Marinette had encouraged Ivan to ask out Mylene, and they turned out great! Maybe that was the power of being on the other side of things. As far as she could tell, Marinette's situation had been only slightly different than Ivan and Mylene's. So maybe Alya had a situation similar. Maybe all her friends did and she just couldn't see it.

"I'm going to change, think you can wait for another minute, Speedy?" Alya said, putting a hand on Marinette's shoulder as she stood up and went to her room.

Marinette nodded dully as she took the time to think, staring into the light blue color that her cereal had stained the milk. A few spare pieces were floating around in the bowl and Marinette started to push some of them together.

"Ivan and Mylene," She said, a little yellow one pairing up with a larger dark blue piece of cereal. "Adrien and me," She said, a green one matching with a pink. "Kim, he could go with Alix or Max," she said, putting a small green one and a small red one on either side of a large red piece. A purple one with an orange, a yellow with another orange. That left two orange pieces left, "Alya and..."

"Come on!" Alya said, grabbing Marinette by the wrist and pulling her to her feet, "Let's get going!"


	9. Doughnuts

Marinette and Alya walked towards the beach, passing by the little coffee shop that Adrien had taken Marinette to just the other day. It made Marinette remember their date and filled her with a sense of determination that picked up her pace and brought her closer to her destination.

Alya rolled her eyes as she strolled along behind her friend. Marinette was sweet and usually pretty relaxed, but when it came to that guy, she changed into a hot mess, but it also gave her some focus, a goal to strive towards. To be honest, Alya was a little worried about Marinette after the date. Was Adrien living up to her expectations? Or was she letting her expectations clouding her judgement?

Alya didn't mean that Adrien was a bad guy, she knew him long enough to know he was nice and all. And besides, Nino really liked him, they were like brothers really. And Alya trusted Nino's judgement. For people. Not really for much else. The guy once thought that it was a good idea to try and get his little Jeep on two wheels. He still had scars on his arm where his bone had broken the skin.

Alya shuddered a little at the memory. It was a bad night for everyone. Nino has tried to pull it off like it's not a big deal, and people try to ignore it for the most part, like it didn't happen. Alya tried too.

Marinette would have lost Alya had it not been for the crosswalks slowing her down every few yards. She was really excited to see Adrien, she couldn't sit still. Even when she was waiting for Alya to catch up, she was bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet, nervous energy trying to get out any way that it could.

It was probably for the better too, Alya had seen Marinette when she had stopped for cereal, she had almost passed out in her bowl. Caffeine and necessity seemed to be what kept the girl awake most days, and even when she woke up naturally, she was groggy for a few hours before she could actually think and do anything productive. Alya wondered how the girl survived on her own for most of her life. Come to think of it:

"Isn't your parents bakery around here?" Alya asked, "Wanna stop by? Let them know how you're doing?"

"You just want doughnuts, don't you?" Marinette said accusingly.

"What can I say?" Alya shrugged, "Your parents are great. Besides, isn't there something you want to tell them?" Alya asked, "Something about why you're awake this early this morning? Or maybe you want to talk about how your day was yesterday. I don't think you called them this week."

"Alya," Marinette groaned, following her friend across the street, "I don't want to talk to my parents about something like this! You know how they're so..."

"Excitable?"

"I was going to say-"

"Supportive?"

"No-"

"Enthusiastic?"

"Alya!"

"Here."

Marinette sighed and rubbed her forehead, "I was going to say you know how they like to get involved in things, even when it's personal."

"Well I see where you get it now..." Alya mumbled.

"All I'm saying is that I already have enough people trying to help me out with this, I don't need my parents to try and set me up also. I'm perfectly capable of going on a date by myself and making things work out."

"Who's going on a date?" said a voice above both of them. Marinette almost walked right into the person it belonged to, but managed to catch herself and windmill her arms to prevent falling on her butt.

Marinette's face fell, realizing that she wasn't looking where she was going and had been lead right to her parent's bakery. "Hey Dad..." Marinette said, smiling up at the tall man. He was wearing an apron and carrying a piece of chalk in one hand, a small chalkboard on the sidewalk had the specials of the day freshly written on it.

"It's so nice of you to drop by, nani! Your mother and I missed you!" He reached down and wrapped his arms around Marinette, pulling her into a tight hug.

Marinette tried her best to hug her father back, but his large frame almost completely enveloped hers, making it rather hard to reciprocate. She loved the hugs she got from her father, they always seemed to create a small, safe place for her whenever she needed it. But some times, like right now, they could get a little too much and would feel like they were suffocating her in kindness.

"What brings you by the shop today?" He asked, releasing Marinette and holding her out at arm's length.

"I was just walking towards the beach-" Marinette tried to explain, getting cut off by Alya.

"I dragged her by, Mr. Dupain. I thought that she hadn't seen you guys in a while, so I tricked her. How's business?" Alya asked, changing the subject quickly.

"Well thank you, Alya, it's good to know we have you looking after Marinette. Come on in, you two! Sabine just made a fresh batch of doughnuts!" Mr. Dupain gestured for the two girls to follow him inside of the bakery. Marinette glanced at Alya who had a large smile on her face, obviously excited to have a doughnut.

The girls followed Marinette's father into the small shop. It had a quaint feel to it, the tiny room surrounded by windows facing outside, each lined with different freshly baked pastries, their scent wafting around the room, making Alya's mouth water. Sabine, Marinette's mother, was standing behind the counter, smiling at the new arrivals. She stepped out from behind to hug her daughter and Alya, wiping her hands on the apron she wore around her waist.

"Oh, Marinette, it's so good to see you, I didn't think you were coming by!"

"I wasn't really planning on it," Marinette said, "Alya and I were going to the beach but we decided to stop by and see how everything was going here."

"Everything is just great! Your father and I have been hard at work, baking all day and night. But what about you, nani? What have you been doing lately?"

Marinette shrugged, "Same old stuff, you know. I don't have any tours scheduled for a while, there was a small party at the beach the other night, that was nice." Marinette had to purposely not think about the result of that night. She wasn't entirely sure why she didn't want to tell her mom or dad that she had gone on a date, but it just felt like if she told them too soon, it would end up being too good to be true. She tried to focus on the fun they had with watermelons and how she met Chloe during the party, instead of Adrien, as if her mother could read her mind.

"Oh that's nice, dear," Her mother said, "If you two are on your way to the beach, we won't hold you up with our old person talk, get along now." She gestured towards the door that they entered from, almost shooing them away.

"Oh, wait!" Mr. Dupain said, walking out of the back room where they baked all their food. He had a tray of doughnuts in his ovenmitted hands, "Do either of you want a doughnut?"

Before Alya could respond, Marinette was pushing her out the door, a smile playing across her lips, "Uh, no thanks, Dad! We just had breakfast so neither of us are really hungry and besides..." Marinette finally shoved Alya outside with quite some protest, "Alya's on a diet," She said, almost whispering it across the shop, "She told me to not let her have anything you guys make."

With that, Marinette also followed after her friend, bee lining for the beach.

"What was that all about?" Alya asked, "I love your parents' cooking."

"I know you do," Marinette said, "Payback for making me see them."

"Oh come on, you love your family. Everyone does!"

"I know, Alya, but I'm kind of in a rush today. I really want to just get to the beach and see Adrien already!"

"And you couldn't tell your parents that because...?"

"I don't know Alya," Marinette groaned as they stepped on to the beach, the sounds of people enjoying themselves springing up left and right as tourists played in the water, lifeguards blew on their whistles, and kids made sandcastles. "It just feels like if I tell them, it'll be official, and it feels too soon to be official."

"Marinette, you've woken up early two days in a row for this guy. You brought him to the waterfall that's so very special to you. The one thing you haven't done to confess your undying love for this boy is bring him a homemade snack."

There was a pause as Marinette fiddled with her bag, looking down at her feet to try and hide her blushing face.

"You didn't."

"It was before you woke up."

"You did not." Alya said, cracking a smile.

"I didn't want it to get cold, that's why I'm in such a rush!" Marinette whined, covering her face with her hands.

"You did not!" Alya said, putting her hands on Marinette's shoulders, "Mari, why didn't you tell me?"

"It didn't really come up, to be fair."

"Well now there's no time to lose! Where is Adrien?" Alya said, a fire burning in her eyes as she turned and started scanning the beach. Further down, a little ways from town, was the privately owned sections of the beach where large, expensive housing was set up to overlook the waves. One of those houses was Adrien's, they knew that much.

Alya grabbed Marinette by the wrist and started to pull her along, moving at a very brisk walk. She passed by surfers trying to get their attention, children who were playing with squirt guns, and the kids parents, sitting under the shade of an umbrella and reading. As they approached the edge of the public beach, a small wooden sign warned them that they were entering private property.

"Um, Alya?" Marinette said, a little worried as she read the sign.

"We're fine, Marinette, walk with purpose and people won't question you," she replied, slowing down a little bit so that Marinette could catch up to her pace and it didn't look as obvious as it was just a few minutes ago. "Which house is his?"

"I don't know," Marinette said.

Alya took out her phone and texted Nino: Where does Adrien live? I know it's the private section of the beach, but how far down exactly?

It only took a few minutes for her to get her reply. She knew she could count on Nino. He had to sneak in and out of Adrien's house more than once, despite being a friend of his. He had some funny stories about the security of the place especially a guy who he only referred to as "The Gorilla".

Nino: Just keep walking until you have to go around the curve. He's the mansion wedged in the rocks. Might not be there right now though. Why?

Alya: We're trying to find him. Where would he be?

Nino: He said that he had to practice a lot for the upcoming surfing tournament. Check the beach nearby. Be careful though, I think Chloe might be close by.

Alya smiled and followed the directions Nino gave her, walking further down the beach until it curved to the left, a small rocky cliffside overflowing with foliage blocking out the view of the other side. She and Marinette walked around the turn and gasped when they saw the area. A large expanse of white sand separating the crystal blue water from the rocky land.

A small wooden path wound its way between the rocky terrain and up towards the largest house that either of them had ever seen. It had balconies and windows galore and many steeples across the roof. It looked out of place, juxtaposed to the rocks leading to the beach, and the trees and grasses hiding the sides and back of the house. It was truly spectacular that such a place could possibly be hidden only so far from the teeming life of the public beach just down the other way.

But just as they were able to take it in, they heard a shrill yell, "Hey! What are you two doing here?"

Turning while wincing, Marinette and Alya were treated to the image of rolling waves, and glistening water. But also a very angry Chloe, walking aggressively towards them, a shorter redhead in glasses trailing behind her, trying to keep up and not fall at the same time. There was another woman, dressed in a pantsuit and holding a clipboard, but she didn't seem nearly as interested in Alya and Marinette as Chloe was. Instead, she was focusing on the water, shaking her head slightly and writing something down.

"We came to see Adrien," Alya replied, crossing her arms indignantly.

"Well, you can't. This is private property, so the two of you should just go."

"Where is Adrien?" Marinette asked, trying to look around Chloe, just to have her view blocked by the redhead who was trying very hard to be intimidating, although she wasn't very good at it.

"He's practicing, if you must know. And the two of you broke his concentration. You're being detrimental to his performance, so you need to leave!"

"Do you even know what detrimental means?" Alya asked.

"Come on Chloe," Marinette said, trying to be kind, "It'll only take a minute, everyone can use a break once in a while, right?"

"I don't care! The two of you need to leave, or I'll have to call security!"

"Chloe!" It was Adrien's voice this time, he was running towards the group of girls, wearing his swim trunks and nothing else. He was soaking wet from surfing, "Relax, they can stay. Besides, I think you screaming is what made me fall, not them showing up." Adrien smiled, putting a hand on her shoulder to try and defuse the situation.

Marinette noticed that Adrien was dripping a little on to Chloe's outfit, but she either didn't notice or didn't mind. "Fine," she eventually said, "I suppose they can stay for a minute."


	10. Sofas

Adrien lead the four girls closer towards his house, away from the woman with the clipboard, who was writing down several notes after Adrien had stopped surfing.

"Guys, I'm not sure if you met Sabrina, she couldn't make it to the party the other night," Adrien said, gesturing to the red headed girl that had been following behind Chloe almost every time Marinette had the displeasure of running into her. "Sabrina, this is Marinette and Alya, they're friends of-"

"She knows who they are, Adrien," Chloe said coldly, flipping her hair to punctuate an end to the conversation.

"I... see..." Adrien said sheepishly. He shrugged and gestured up to the large house looming above the group, "Well, this is my house. Well, my dad's house, he owns it but he's hardly ever around. He likes me training away from the public beach so I have less distractions."

"If you ask me," Chloe chimed in, "It isn't far away enough," She said, pointedly glaring at Marinette and Alya.

"Yeah but nobody asked you," Alya retorted under her breath, meeting Chloe's glare with one of her own.

The red head, Sabrina, finally spoke up, it seemed that she was a rather quiet girl for the most part, Marinette couldn't blame her, what with spending so much time around Chloe. "Adrien's father was nice enough to let Chloe and I stay here while Chloe was on vacation."

"Oh yeah," Marinette piped up, "Are you an actress like Chloe? Or a model?" Sabrina blushed a little bit in reaction to Marinette's words, but Chloe seemed unable to let anyone have an iota of confidence around her.

"Her? Ha! No, Sabrina is just my assistant, she helps me stay on schedule, carries the bags, does whatever I tell her to, that kind of thing."

"Yeah," Adrien said, opening the front door for the group, "Ever since I've known Chloe, I've known Sabrina, they're kind of a package deal, really."

Any response Marinette or Alya had to that was quickly stolen from their mouths when they got a look on the inside of Adrien's house. The entrance hall was the bigger than their apartment. High vaulted ceilings gave way to a glittering chandelier hanging above their heads, the crystal in it reflecting and refracting the light that bled through the huge windows into a tapestry of colors on the plain gray walls. The floor was marble and had a large carpet draped across it, leading down the long room towards a staircase and splitting in two different directions. There were a few doors on the sides of the room, hardly visible around the giant pillars that held the ceiling aloft. It was as majestic as the outside and the girls felt very out of place once inside.

"I'm going to change, be back soon. Chloe, would you bring them to the living room?" Adrien asked. Taking the huff and eye roll Chloe supplied him as a yes, Adrien bolted down the hall, skipping up the stairs on the right two at a time.

"Sabrina, you show them. I have to talk to Adrien," Chloe delegated with a wave of her hand as she started to stalk after Adrien. Marinette could almost see the storm cloud billowing around her head.

Adrien's room was huge. One wall had been converted into a rock climbing wall so that Adrien could stay fit. A computer sat under his desk with several monitors, the best that money could buy. He had a couch, and a television, and a walk in closet filled with clothes from all around the world. There was so much stuff in there that it was hard to notice the small things he had done for himself. One corner, tucked away from sight housed his bed and a nightstand. The walls next to it covered in pictures cut out of magazines. Surfers, super heroes, and a picture of his mother were all right there around him while he slept. The bed faced the great bay windows that overlooked his view of the stretch of beach and ocean in front of his house. Adrien loved that corner, that's why it was tucked away, so that others wouldn't go near it.

Chloe was sitting on his couch, on her phone, "So who are these people again?" She called to Adrien who was drying off in the bathroom.

"You've met them, Chloe," He explained again, "Alya and Marinette are friends of mine. They were at the party that I brought you to."

"I wouldn't really call that a party," Chloe muttered under her breath.

"What?"

"I said I know that!" She said, "Are they just friends?" Chloe asked, thinking about the time she saw him walk out of that forest with that Marinette girl.

"Of course not!" Adrien replied, grinning slyly. It wasn't often that he could get away with joking to Chloe, so he savored every moment of it that he could. He was rewarded by hearing the sound of Chloe's phone clatter against the glass top to the coffee table in front of her.

"What?!" She shrieked, standing up and physically restraining herself from bursting in on Adrien while he was changing. She could hear him chuckle from behind the closed door.

"No friend is ever 'just a friend' for anybody, Chloe. Like you and Sabrina!"

"That's not what I meant! You know what I mean!"

Adrien poked his head out of the bathroom door, "Chloe, of course I know what you meant. But you can't just ask me something like that. Pass me my shirt would you?" He asked, pointing to a blue t-shirt on the couch's arm.

Chloe obliged, "I saw you walking in the forest with whatsherface."

"Her name is Marinette," Adrien replied patiently, pulling the shirt over his head, "And what's it to you?"

"Are the two of you dating?"

"Are you and Sabrina?"

"That's not what I mean!"

"You think that I'm dating Marinette because you saw me walking around with her? You and Sabrina walk around all the time together!"

"But that's different!"

"How so?" Adrien asked, crossing his arms. She was starting to grate on him.

Chloe sighed and stepped towards Adrien, putting on a gentler voice and resting an arm on his shoulder, "Adrien, I'm just worried, is all. I want what's best for you, and I don't know this girl. I'm just not comfortable seeing you date some random fan girl with a crush on you. It would be much better if you were to date someone you've known much longer. Trust me, I'm in magazines, I go through scandals like this all the time."

"She is not just some fan girl with a crush, ok?" Adrien said, shrugging her hand off his shoulder and walking towards the windows, looking out them wistfully for a moment, "And what was that about dating someone I've known? Like who? Sabrina?" Adrien asked jokingly.

There was a pause as Adrien turned back towards the view, "Well, yeah," Chloe said, coming to stand next to Adrien, "The three of us practically grew up together. Are you saying you don't have any feelings for Sabrina?"

"I like her as a friend," Adrien shrugged, "But I wouldn't say I was 'just friends' with her either. Friends are special, Chloe."

"I know. But when the tournament comes, there will be reporters and cameras and everything else around. Even your dad will be there to watch you perform. And if you come off your board and into the arms of some... nobody. The press will have a field day. Your career would be jeopardized. I don't think your dad would be too happy, either."

Adrien closed his eyes and sighed, "Then will you help me, Chloe?"

"For a friend?" Chloe said gently, putting her arm on his shoulder again, "Anything."

Meanwhile, Marinette was nervously peeking in her bag every few minutes to see if the muffin she had made was crushed or ruined or damaged in any way. Alya and Sabrina seemed to be in a staring contest, a test of wills for who had dominance in the room. The tension was awkwardly palpable between the two girls and was only broken by a door opening, causing Sabrina to look expectantly like she was a dog expecting it's family to come home.

Adrien and Chloe entered the room, Chloe was smiling. But it wasn't her usual crude sneer. It was actually trying to be warm and uplifting. It made Alya feel very disquieted. Marinette didn't notice Chloe, however, and instead smiled briefly at Adrien before making sure that his surprise was tucked away safely. She couldn't just give it to him. That would be weird. Especially with everyone around and no doubt looking at her if she were to try. She would need some time alone with him. As he and Chloe took their seats, Marinette tried to convey this message to Alya with her eyes alone.

They were great friends, so Alya must have understood the message. They worked on the same wavelength! Two peas in a pod! They practically shared each other's every thought and feeling! There would be no way that this message could've been miscommuni-

"What?" Alya asked, "Do I have something in my teeth?" Marinette was doomed.

"So what's up, you two?" Adrien asked, trying to appear casual as he lounged in his chair. Unfortunately, with his hair still slightly damp, and the sunlight trickling in to highlight his features, it looked like he was a model for a magazine, much like Chloe. This was almost too much for Marinette and made her blush and try to avert her gaze, unable to answer the question. She hoped that Alya could answer for them both in a way that wasn't too embara-

"Juliet here couldn't help but see you again," Alya said, winking at Adrien.

Now it was Adrien's turn to blush, although not nearly as bad as Marinette who was almost a beet as she started to fold into herself.

"I'm kidding, you guys. You can stop looking like deer in headlights. I wanted to swing by and check out how Adrien's training was going. If he wasn't going to have much free time, I wanted to make sure he was using his time well. Besides, I don't think I've ever watched you surf." Alya explained. Thank goodness for that.

"Well, if you really wanted to watch him train, I guess your plan foiled itself, didn't it?" Sabrina chimed in after a beat. It was surprising to hear the remark come from her and not Chloe. What had she and Adrien talked about?

"Now now, Sabrina," Chloe said, "There isn't any reason to be so rude to friends. I'm sure they just wanted to see Adrien is all. He's very popular, you know," She said, looking past Sabrina on the couch they shared and right at Adrien, who was just recovering from Alya's "joke".

"But-" Sabrina tried to start again, confused, only to be hushed by Chloe raising her hand.

"You must be dizzy, Sabrina, come on, let's get you some water," Chloe said, helping her friend stand up, then to the group, "The heat out here is much worse than she's used to and the silly girl still insists on wearing pants. If she got heat stroke, I don't know what I'd do!" Then she lead Sabrina out of the room, laughing too much at a statement that wasn't very funny to begin with.

"That was weird..." Alya said, scratching her head.

Adrien swapped from the couch he was on to sitting next to Marinette and Alya on their couch, "So tell me the truth, did you really come to see me train?"

"Well..." Marinette began, playing with the strap of her bag.

"She came to see you, I don't know if the training was part of it," Alya said, nudging her friend, "I'll leave the two of you some privacy," Alya said slyly, walking out of the room.

The two turned to each other, a light blush painting their cheeks as they let out an uneasy laugh. "Oh hey!" Alya said, ducking her head back inside, "Bathroom?"

"Uh, two doors down, on your left," Adrien supplied. Alya gave them a thumbs up and then shut the door behind herself.

Adrien turned back and gave Marinette his cat-ish grin. Marinette bit her lip nervously and glanced up at his golden hair, tousled and tossed by the ocean. The part that he usually wore was gone and left his hair a wild mess of sunlight above his large green eyes.

"I made you something!" Marinette said quickly, breaking the eye contact they had been working towards. She dove into her bag and grabbed the muffin with shaking hands, she thrust it out to him and shut her eyes tight, worried what he might say.

Adrien took the muffin out from her hands gently, "Oh, wow! Thank you, Marinette!" He said, beaming widely and glancing back to Marinette, who still seemed a little nervous about something. He had never expected a gift from her, especially so soon. "You're so nice to me, Marinette."

"Th-thanks..."

"Well, I suppose that you're nice to everyone, and I guess that's why I like you so much, you know?" He said, running his thumb along the wrapper of the muffin. It looked delicious. It wasn't warm anymore, but Adrien could smell it and the scent itself made his mouth water. He hadn't been allowed to eat something like this in... a long time.

Marinette giggled softly.

"What?" Adrien asked, laughing a little at himself too.

"Nothing," Marinette muttered before looking up into his eyes again. Her blue eyes like stars in vast space, drawing him in and dazzling him all at once, "Its just that... I used to always babble around you, but now you're the one who can't stop talking."

Adrien's face cracked as his lips split into a side grin, his shoulders shaking as he started laughing.

"Oh! I mean, that's not a bad thing! I really like listening to your voice, and I really don't mind it. I just think that it's-"

Adrien put his finger to her lips, stopping her words in their tracks. "Now you're babbling again," he teased.

"Sorry," Marinette said softly, her eyes locking with his again. Neither were aware with how close they were sitting to each other, or how much time had passed. They could be intruded upon any second, but they stayed where they were.

Neither dared to move, afraid that the fragile moment be broken to tiny pieces.


End file.
